Data from the FMDQ Exchange revealed a significant decline in the total value of transactions recorded at the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday. The value plummeted to $203.93 million, marking a 56% drop from $465.29 million recorded on Tuesday.
This decline follows a recent surge in FX transactions attributed to circulars issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN’s directives included compelling banks to offload excess dollar holdings and ensuring transparent FX trading data reporting.
Despite these efforts, the naira experienced a 1.4% depreciation against the dollar at the parallel market, reaching N1,480/$ on Thursday compared to N1,460/$ the previous day. Bureau De Change operators noted a consistent increase in demand for the greenback, pushing its price upward.
Abdulahi Taura and Ibrahim Yahu, BDC operators, highlighted the sustained demand for dollars as the primary driver behind the rising exchange rate, which closed at N1,482/$.
In official markets, the naira continued its downward trajectory against the US dollar, closing at N1,479.47/$ compared to N1,434.53/$ recorded the previous day. However, forex turnover witnessed a downward trend over the past two days, reflecting ongoing volatility in the currency market.
