Naira Strengthens to ₦1,608/$1 as Parallel Market Drops Below ₦1,600/$1
The naira has appreciated significantly against the dollar in both the official and parallel markets, marking a strong rebound after months of volatility.
At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira appreciated to N1,608/$1 on Wednesday, compared to ₦1,625/$1 on Tuesday and ₦1,660/$1 at the start of the week. This development comes after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) on Monday, an initiative aimed at increasing transparency and efficiency in Nigeria’s FX market.
The EFEMS platform automatically matches buy and sell orders in real-time, promoting fairness and improving liquidity in the system.
The parallel market has also recorded significant gains. Neusroom checks reveal that the naira now trades below ₦1,600/$1, compared to above ₦1,700/$1 earlier this week. On Bybit, a prominent crypto exchange popular among Nigerians, the dollar is now bought for between ₦1,500/$1 and ₦1,550/$1.
Similarly, on Trove, an investment platform for US stocks, the naira trades at ₦1,595/$1 when buying and ₦1,528/$1 when selling. On Bamboo, another trading platform, the naira is priced at ₦1,582/$1.
Analysts, such as Gbolohan Ologunro of FBNQuest, attribute the gains to increased dollar inflows from Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) attracted by competitive yields on one-year bills. “This has made naira assets more attractive,” he noted.
However, despite the gain, an earlier report by BMI, a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions, projected that the naira would depreciate to ₦1,993 per US dollar by 2028.
