The Naira reached a recent low, depreciating to N1,043.09 against the dollar in the official foreign exchange market on Thursday, a notable decline from the previous day’s rate of N872.59/$ at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Dealers observed a shift as the exchange rate strengthened compared to the N885.88/$ quoted on the Friday preceding the Christmas holidays.
Data sourced from the FMDQ revealed a significant increase in dollar supply, surging by 38.81 percent to $127.93 million on Wednesday from the $92.16 million recorded on the previous Friday.
The dollar was supplied by willing buyers and willing sellers who participated in the FX auction at NAFEM.
They quoted the dollar at N1,235.65 on the spot trading, stronger than $1,248 quoted on Friday. For the lower spot rate, the dollar traded for N740, weaker than N700 on Friday.
Data from the FMDQ showed that dollar supply increased by 38.81 percent to $127.93 million on Wednesday from $92.16 million recorded on Friday.
Naira has been rated among the world’s worst performing currencies in 2023.
This is coming on the heels of Bloomberg’s latest report that naira is poised for its worst year since the return to democracy in 1999, with analysts predicting further depreciation in 2024.
