Naira depreciates at forex markets

The Naira fell significantly against the United States dollar at the official market on Monday, data published on the FMDQ website showed.

The local currency, which stood at N781.99 to a dollar earlier in the day closed at the spot market segment at N773.54 per $1 on Monday, the data reveals.

The figure represents a N31.69 or 4.3 per cent depreciation from N741.85 per $1 it was exchanged at the official market last Friday.

Within the business period on Monday, the domestic currency traded within an intraday high of N700.00 and declined to a low of N846.00 before it finally closed at N773.54, the FMDQ data showed.

Forex turnover recorded within the business period was $96.58 million.

In the parallel market, the naira weakened according to data posted on AbokiFX, a website that collates market rates in Lagos.

According to the data published on the website, the naira was exchanged against the dollar at N1000 per dollar and sold at N1008 per $1.

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The rate implies N8.00 or 0.8 per cent depreciation from N992.00 per $1 last Friday.

The Naira has weakened against the greenback within the past four months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the collapse of all forex windows into the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window.

The Apex bank said at the time that the move was part of the Nigerian government’s efforts to improve liquidity and stability in the market and attract foreign investors into the Nigerian economy.

However, since the announcement was made, the local currency has depreciated by over 50 per cent across both the official and unofficial forex markets amidst.