Naira recorded a meagre devaluation against the U.S. dollar at the official market on Thursday, a day after it clinched a slight gain at the spot market segment.
Data recorded on the FMDQ website where forex is officially traded, showed the local currency closed at N416.67 to a dollar at the close of trade on Thursday.
This represents a N0.3 or 0.10 per cent devaluation from N416.37 it exchanged in the previous session on Wednesday, with $109.75 million recorded as foreign exchange turnover at the close of business Thursday.
Naira oscillated to an intraday high of N410.00 and a low of N444.00 before closing at N416.67 on Thursday. The same range it has been trading since the opening of business this week.
The last time the currency closed at N416.67 to a dollar was on Tuesday, which is by far the lowest rate the naira has traded at the official market this month.
According to data posted on the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s website, the highest rate the local unit has exchanged hands with the greenback currency this month is N415.36 rate per $1 at the spot market segment.
By this, the currency has strengthened by 4.4 per cent so far after it recorded an all-time low in December last year when the naira closed at N435.00 on the dot.
Unlike the official market where the naira was bought at N416.67 per $1 on Thursday, at the Uyo black market, exchangers traded the currency at N573.00 and sold within the range of N575.00-N580.00 to a dollar on on Thursday.
“The selling price is not stable today at all. Traders were selling as it pleased them. The market was just somehow. I sold it at N580.00 today,” a dealer who identified himself as Shuaibu told newsmen in an interview.
In a similar manner, Abuja parallel market dealers said they exchanged the naira with the U.S dollar at N573.00 per $1 and sold N575.00 on Thursday.
This represents a N3.00 or 0.53 per cent devaluation from the N570.00 rate it has been trading since the commencement of trade this week.
This is the lowest rate the local unit has traded at the black market since the Central Bank of Nigeria accused Abokifx, a website that collates the black market exchange rates of naira, of carrying out an “illegal activity that undermines the economy” in September last year.
