Naira appreciates by N13 to N445/$1

The naira yesterday recorded its biggest appreciation against the dollar in the parallel market in three weeks, gaining N13 to close at N445 per dollar.


Investigations revealed that the sharp appreciation of the naira was due to decline in demand prompted by the sustained injection of dollar by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) into the foreign exchange market. Confirming this development, a bureaux de change chief executive, who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity said: “The market is paralysed.

There is no demand at the moment. We have collected dollars from the CBN, but people are not coming to buy like before.

So people are keeping their dollars. But we expect the situation to change by tomorrow.” The appreciation implies that the naira has gained N15 against the dollar this week in the parallel market.

The steady appreciation is driven by the sustained intervention of the CBN via regular dollar sales to banks to meet demands for visible and invisibles like Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) and Business Travel Allowance (BTA).