Breaking: Dollar Exchanges for N644 as forex scarcity lingers

The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N426.58/$1 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, where forex is traded officially. 

Naira retracted on Wednesday, depreciating by 0.57% to close at N426.58/$, from N424.17/$1 recorded in the previous trade session. In the same vein, forex supply fell by 62.45% to $144.03 million from the record of #383.59 million that was traded on Tuesday. 

Also, with the further scarcity of forex in the market, the exchange rate at the peer-to-peer market depreciated significantly to a record low of N644.25/$1 in the early hours of Thursday, representing a 1.44% decline compared to N635.1/$1 recorded on Wednesday morning. This is the highest rate recorded in the unofficial market, according to data tracked by Nairalytics.

On the other hand, the exchange rate at the parallel market appreciated slightly by 0.16% to close trading activities on Wednesday at N629/$1 compared to N630/$1 recorded in the previous trading session. This is according to information from Bureau De Change operators. 

Nigeria’s external reserves recorded its first decline in over one month on Tuesday, 19th July 2022, falling by 0.02% to stand at $39.43 billion compared to $39.44 billion recorded as of the previous day. The decline in the country’s external reserve could be attributed to the increased flow of FX in the official market in the past two days. 

The CBN had explained during the last MPC session that Nigeria’s external reserve grew in the month of June 2022 as a result of increased non-oil export and improvement in diaspora remittances through its RT200 and Naira4dollar programmes respectively. 

Trading at the official NAFEX window 

The exchange rate at the official market depreciated on Wednesday, 20th July 2022, declining by 0.57% to close at N426.58 to a dollar as against the N424.17/$1 recorded on Tuesday, 19th July 2022. 

• The opening indicative rate closed at N426.5/$1 on Wednesday, 20th from N426.2/$1 recorded in the previous trading session. 
• Furthermore, an exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N426.58/$1, while it traded as low as N414/$1 during intra-day trading. 
• A total of $144.03 million in FX value exchanged hands on Wednesday, which is 62.45% lower than the $383.59 million that was traded in the previous trading session. 

Official exchange rate appreciates as Forex supply surges by 301% to $389 million.