Naira closes at N1,560.57/$1 at official market

The Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) saw a notable appreciation on Tuesday, with the closing rate standing at N1560.57 to $1.

This represents a significant gain of N36.67 or 2.35% from Monday’s closing rate of N1,597.24/$1.  

Additionally, the Naira maintained its position below the N1,600/$1 mark for the second day in a row, a threshold it had previously sustained for nine days since March 5th, 2024.  

The trading activity on Tuesday also reflected an increase, with the daily turnover reaching $195.13 million, marking a substantial 38.93% rise from the $140.45 million recorded on Monday.  

Furthermore, data from FMDQ Securities reveals that there has been an impressive increase of 4.34% or $1.43 billion in daily turnover from the beginning of the year to March 18th, 2024. 

On Tuesday, the naira experienced varied outcomes against key international currencies within the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.  

The I&E FX window observed a peak spot rate of N1626.5/$1 and a trough of N1,415.00, reflecting a N211.5/$1 fluctuation.  

In the parallel market, the naira remained stable, trading close to the N1,600 per dollar benchmark. The national currency saw a 0.50% appreciation against the US dollar on Tuesday, improving from the prior rate of N1,608/$1.  

Conversely, against the pound sterling, there was a sterling depreciation of 0.25%, with the closing rate of N2,025/£1 compared to the previous N2,030/£1.  

Against the euro, however, the naira achieved a 0.29% gain, ending at N1,720/€1 from Monday’s rate of N1,725/€1. 

The country’s foreign reserves witnessed a notable increment of $30.04 million as of March 18, 2024, totaling $34.450 billion—a marginal 0.09% increase from the preceding day’s reserves of $34.420 billion.

 The reserves have been on a positive trend for 21 days (roughly three weeks), commencing from February 13, 2024.