Naira Scoops 0.90% Against Dollar at Spot FX Market

The Naira, on Monday, October 17, gained 0.90 percent at the Interbank or Spot FX market to close at N305 against the US dollar.

The local currency at the interbank market exchanged at N305.5 to the dollar, the highest in the last two months. Traders said the apex bank, which has been selling dollars regularly to prop up the currency, sold around $1.5 million towards the close of trade yesterday after the market was open for nearly four hours with no deals.

The Naira, however continued to strengthen to the dollar at the parallel market.At the parallel market the Naira/Dollar buy rate remained stable to close at N445/US$ while the selling rate strengthened to N455/US$ compared to last Friday’s rate of N460/US$.

Traders said the apex bank held a dollar forward auction last week Friday to clear a backlog of demand from airlines, manufacturers and other companies, as the country’s currency crisis deepened.