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Naira gains against dollar at I&E window, closes flat at black market

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FOREX: CBN injects N273m into retail secondary market

The naira closed stronger against the United States dollar at the over-the-counter spot market also called the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Monday, exchanging at N385.50/$1.

It had closed at N386 at the previous session, meaning it posted a 50 kobo appreciation on Monday.

The opening indicative rate was N386.17 to a dollar, translating to a 62 kobo fall when compared with the N385.55 to a dollar reported on Friday.

The local currency touched an intraday high of N386 and a low of N384 at the last session.

On the supply side, foreign exchange turnover at the I&E window recorded a deep plunge, falling by as much as 95.7% session on session.

According to the FMDQ, volume plummeted from $92.22 million on Friday to $3.97 million on Monday, raising fears that the road to recovery and liquidity at the currency market might still be far ahead.

Read also: Naira gains against dollar at black market, I&E window

Last week, forex sale averaged $50.6 million relative to $32 million the week before. Yet, the recent levels are significantly lower than the figure for January, when daily turnover average was more than $200 million.

Meanwhile, the exchange rate of naira to the dollar remained unchanged on Monday at the black market according to Abokifx, which collates rates from informal street traders. It closed at N475/$1, the same rate at which it closed on Friday.

The gulf between the rate of exchange used at the I&E window and that of the parallel market, which the central bank says is ‘illegal’ stands at N89.5.

Nigeria has been under pressure from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to harmonise its multiple exchange rates around the one used by the I&E window in order to attract foreign investors.

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