Relief as naira hit N750.14/$1 

Today, November 20, 2023, the naira gain more strength against the dollar, closing at N750.14/$1 on the official market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recent move to clear some of its foreign exchange backlog has relieved many financial analysts who had anticipated a boost in the value of the naira.

Data from the NAFEM, the official forex market, showed that the domestic currency rose by 5.55% to close at N750.14 to the dollar at the close of business today.

Comparing this to the N791.75 it closed at on Friday, the local currency has increased by 5.55%, or N41.61.

There was a wide spread of N380.92/$1, with the intraday high being N1121/$1 and the intraday low being N740.08/$1.

Data from the official NAFEM window indicates that at the end of trading, there was $176.75 million in forex turnover, which was 12.02% less than the day before.

Parallel to this, the naira saw a slight increase in value at the unofficial forex market, where currency is sold. There, the exchange rate saw an appreciation of 0.44%, quoted at N1135/$1, while peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1141.52/$1.

Keep in mind that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced last week that it has started to pay down the foreign exchange forward contract backlog. This development is anticipated to help the naira, the business community, and the economy as a whole.

Since foreign investors withdrew from local assets during a period of low oil prices, the nation has been plagued by a chronic shortage of dollars. Since then, investors have not made a comeback, and the central bank has found it difficult to supply the dollars that foreign investors and airlines wanting to transfer money from abroad.

The payments by the central bank come after the finance minister, Wale Edun, stated on October 23 that Nigeria anticipated receiving $10 billion in inflows to increase the liquidity of the foreign exchange market.