Naira has crashed at the official market despite forex supply improvement.
Glamtush reports that the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N415/$1 at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
Naira depreciated against the US dollar on Monday to close at N415/$1, representing a 0.07% drop compared to N414.73/$1 recorded in the previous trading sessions as drop in the country’s external reserve continues with a decline of $33 million.
However, the naira remained unchanged against the US dollar on Monday as it closed at N570/$1. This was the same rate that was recorded in the previous trading session. This is according to information obtained from BDC operators.
The local currency fell at the official market despite a significant increase of 119.3% in Forex turnover.
Trading at the official NAFEX window
The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window depreciated by 27 kobo to close at N415/$1 on Monday, compared to N415.73/$1 recorded at the last trading session.
The opening indicative rate closed at N413.85/$1 on Friday, which represents a 21 kobo gain compared to N414.06/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
An exchange rate of N459.85/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N415/$1, while it sold for as low as N404/$1 during intra-day trading.
Forex turnover at the official window rose sharply by 119.3% to $225.94 million on Monday.
According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window increased from $103.01 million recorded on Friday 3rd December 2021 to $225.94 million on Monday 6th December 2021.
External reserve
Nigeria’s external reserve dropped by 0.08% on Friday, 3rd December 2021, to close at $41.085 billion. This represents a decrease of $33 million compared to $41.118 billion recorded as of the previous day.
The consistent decline that had been experienced in the country’s reserve level could be attributed to the continuous intervention of the apex bank in ensuring the stability of the exchange rate.
It is worth noting that the nation’s foreign reserve had gained $5.99 billion in the month of October, as a result of the $4 billion raised by the federal government from the issuance of Eurobond in the international debt market.
In the month of November, Nigeria’s external reserve lost $633.47 million in value as against a gain of $5.99 million recorded in the previous month and $2.76 million gain in September 2021. On a year-to-date basis, the reserve gain has reduced to $5.74 billion.