Economy

CBN Adopts NAFEX Rate, Naira to Trade at N410/$1

Published

3 years ago

May 25, 2021

Eric

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially adopted the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange (NAFEX) rate — weakening the naira by 8 percent to N410.25/$1.

The apex bank has also updated its website to reflect the new rate.

Two weeks ago, TheCable had reported the removal of the official exchange rate of N379 to a dollar from its website — in a bid to unify the country’s forex (FX) rates.

This implies that the nation’s official exchange rate will be determined by NAFEX rate or the importer and exporter (I&E) FX window.

The CBN had introduced the I&E window in 2017 to improve foreign exchange market mechanisms, deepen market liquidity, and ensure prompt execution and settlement of all FX transactions.

The NAFEX window is a market trading segment for investors, exporters and end-users that allows FX trades to be made at a market-determined rate.

Nigeria operates multiple exchange rate windows ranging from the I&E (NAFEX) window where forex is traded between exporters, investors, and purchasers of forex, the SMEIS window where forex is sold to importers, and the BDC window which is where forex is sold to retailers.

Over the years, lack of clarity on Nigeria’s foreign exchange windows has been a cause of concern for investors who are worried about currency risk.

The World Bank had urged the government to unify its various windows before the $1.5 billion budget support loan to Nigeria is disbursed.

The International Monetary fund (IMF) has also advised the Nigerian government to fast track the unification of the exchange rates to achieve desired economic growth.

Last month, while approving the sum of $3.4 billion as emergency financial support for Nigeria, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, the deputy managing director/acting chair of IMF, urged the country to expedite action towards a more unified and flexible exchange rate.

On Monday, Nigerian naira gained 0.18 percent to close at N411.25/$1 at the I&E forex window and depreciated to N486/$1 at the parallel market.

Economy

Naira Makes More Recovery, Sells at N1,453/$1

Published

4 weeks ago

March 22, 2024

Eric

The Naira continued its appreciation at the official market on Thursday, March 21, 2024 to close at N1,453.28/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

This represents an appreciation of N39.33 when compared to the N1,492.61/$1 it closed on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,598/$1, while the intraday low was N1,300/$1, representing a wide spread of N298/$1.

Similarly, the Naira appreciated against the dollar at the parallel window to trade at N1,500/$1, this represents an appreciation of N20.00 as against the N1,520 /$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira also appreciated slightly against the British Pound to trade at N2,000/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,020/£1 representing a gain of N20 for the local currency.

The Canadian dollar, however, closed flat against the naira to trade at N1,270/CA$1 same as the N1,270/CA$1 it traded the previous day representing a decline of N20 in the local currency.

The Naira gained N30 against the Euro to trade at N1,670/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,700/€1.

Economy

Naira Gains Against Dollar, Trades at N1,603/$1

Published

1 month ago

March 13, 2024

Eric

The Naira, Tuesday continued its recovery against the American dollar as it traded at N1,603.38/$1, data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window has shown.

This represents a gain of N15.48 when compared to the N1,617.96/$1 it closed on, on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,637/$1, while the intraday low was N1,425.35/$1, representing a lean spread of N211.65/$1.

Meanwhile, the Naira gained N12 against the dollar at the parallel market as the local currency appreciated to N1,603/$1 as against the N1,615 /$1 it traded the previous day. As it stands, the naira is trading at the same rate at both official and parallel windows.

The Naira, however, slumped against the British Pound to trade at N2,050/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,030/£1 representing a loss of N20 for the local currency.

After about two weeks of closing flat against the Canadian dollar, the naira slumped massively to trade at N1,300/CA$1 on Tuesday, representing a decline of N150 when compared to the N1,150/CA$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira lost N35 against the Euro to trade at N1,740/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,705/€1 representing a loss of N35 for the local currency.

Economy

Binance to Close Shop in Nigeria, Stops Transaction, Trading in Naira

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2024

Eric

By Reuters – Binance will stop all transactions and trading in Nigeria’s local currency after March 8 amid a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.

It will stop supporting withdrawals after Friday and any remaining balances in Nigerian Naira will be automatically converted into Tether – a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Last week, Nigerian authorities detained two Binance senior executives on undisclosed charges as part of the crackdown.

They were still in custody, their local lawyer said before a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Source: Reuters