Naira improves against Dollar on parallel market

After crashing from for months, Nigeria currency made a huge comeback against Dollar on January 24, improving to N460 per United States dollar.

The Naira gained 40 points to trade at ₦460 from the ₦500/dollar rate on Thursday, February 23.

The local currency also appreciated against the Pound Sterling to trade at ₦575 from ₦600 and strengthened against the Euro to trade at ₦480 from ₦510.

The Naira’s strength over the dollar can be attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s adjustments to its forex policy.

The new policy is aimed at boosting forex supply to enable commercial banks meet the needs of customers seeking dollar, to pay school fees and medical bills overseas, as well as personal travel allowances.

The CBN will next week begin the weekly sale of $1m to each of the country’s 21 commercial banks at ₦375/dollar to clear a backlog of demand for retail users, and to try and narrow the premium between the official and black market rates.