The naira strengthened marginally across foreign exchange (FX) market segments on Monday as Nigeria’s external reserves exceeded the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) year-end target of $51.04 billion.
Data published by the CBN showed that the naira appreciated by N1.35 in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), with the dollar quoted at N1,369.11 on Monday compared to N1,370.46 on Friday.
Activity in the interbank FX market improved significantly. The number of deals executed rose by 59.32 percent to 94 on Monday from 59 recorded on Friday. Interbank turnover also increased by 63.47 percent to $65.21 million, reflecting stronger market activity at the start of the week.
Although NFEM transaction data for Monday was not available at the time of reporting, market activity had slowed at the close of last week. NFEM deals declined to 201 on Friday from 253 recorded on Thursday, while turnover fell by 45.25 percent to $207.14 million from $378.34 million.
In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the naira gained N5 to close at N1,395 per dollar, representing a 0.4 percent appreciation from N1,400 recorded on Friday. Consequently, the spread between the official and parallel market exchange rates widened slightly to N31 on Monday from N30 at the close of trading last week.
