Naira appreciates to N700/$1 at black market

The naira has sustained its momentum at the parallel market, appreciating N710 per dollar in Lagos on Friday.

Five days after falling to N900/$, the naira has made a comeback rising to N700 /$. The local currency is now in a better position than it was before the redesign announcement.

IDOMA VOICE reports that the development represents N115 or 13.9 percent gain compared to the N825 to a dollar it traded on Wednesday.

Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs) in the Ikeja area of Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N700 and the selling price at N710 per dollar, leaving an N10 profit margin, TheCable reports.

The traders said there was moderation in demand for dollars by citizens.

“I have plenty of dollars in my hand but people are not buying as much as before. I have not yet sold anything today,” Abubakar, a trader at the Alade Market, Ikeja, told TheCable.

A currency trader at Victoria Island, simply identified as Musa, said he is currently buying the local currency at N700/$ and selling it for N740 per dollar on Friday morning.

He said he and some of his colleagues were recording losses because they had bought the dollar at about N800 but now have no choice but to sell for a lower amount.

“I am losing some money too but I am not selling anymore till it goes back up. They (other currency dealers) will keep and sell when it goes up,” Musa said.

Last week, the naira weakened to almost N900 per dollar, pressured by the planned currency redesign by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the subsequent Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) clampdown on FX dealers.