On Tuesday, the official foreign exchange market saw a minor increase in the value of the Nigerian naira relative to the US dollar, as the country’s external reserves saw further inflows of foreign money.
The daily official exchange rate is quoted on the FMDQ platform. Based on this information, the naira closed at ₦1,576.66 per US dollar, up 0.04% from the previous day.
According to investment analysts speaking with MarketForces Africa, the local currency strengthened as FX pressure at the Nigerian independent foreign exchange market decreased today.
The impact of the apex bank’s US dollar intervention sales to authorized dealers helped to increase the quantity of foreign exchange liquidity in the currency market, which supported the naira’s rebound in the official window.
Nigeria recorded additional inflows of more than $321 million on Monday into the external reserves, lifting the balance to $35.696 billion.
The surge followed improved crude oil production and relatively high market price in the global commodity market. Today, oil prices declined as a result of worries of a slowing Chinese economy.
The data tempered demand outlook in the oil market despite the growing consensus that the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin cutting its key interest rate in September.
Brent prices decreased by 1.39% to $83.27, while WTI prices decreased by 1.55% to $80.64. Additionally, gold prices gained 1.68% to $2,469.50 per ounce at the time of this report.
In the parallel market, the naira closed at ₦1,550 per dollar, losing N5 day on day following a sustained increase in foreign currency for invisible transactions.
