Dollar sells cheaper in parallel market as naira crashes in official window

The naira appreciated in the parallel market on Friday, March 29, 2024, to trade at N1,280 per dollar.

The development means the Nigerian currency appreciated by 5.19% from the N1,350 per dollar traded on March 27, 2024.

Dollar sells for N1,280 in parallel market

Bureau de Change (BDC) operators quoted the buying rate of the dollar as N1,260 per dollar and the selling rate as N1,280, making a profit of N20.

TheCable reports that currency traders said the dollar has continued to crash, severely affecting their operations as customers prefer keeping their foreign currencies to exchanging them.

However, the naira depreciated marginally in the official market on Thursday, March 28, 2024, trading at N1,309.39 per dollar from the N1,300.43 recorded the previous day.

Nigeria records $1.5 billion FX inflows

The CBN said that the Nigerian economy recorded a foreign exchange inflow of $1.5 billion in March 2024, higher than the $1.2 billion recorded in February 2024.

The move follows a hike in the country's interest rates by 200 basis points to N24.75% by the apex bank.

Analysts say the hike in interest rates is attracting investors who see it as an opportunity to make money.

CBN said it is headed in the right direction with its policies, adding that its governor, Olayemi Cardoso, is committed to ensuring the stability of the market and appropriate pricing of the naira against major currencies.

Currency in circulation hits all-time high

Legit.ng previously reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria said the currency in circulation reached a historic high of N3.69 trillion in February 2024.

The development came after CBN tightened monetary policy and raised MPR at its last MPC meeting.

The recent data indicated an increase of N43.07 trillion or 1.8% month-on-month from N3.65 trillion reported in January 2024 and N443.38 billion or 13.64% yearly from N3.25 trillion reported in February 2023.