Naira maintains strength in the official window, slumps in the parallel market

The Naira, at the official foreign exchange market, yesterday recorded marginal appreciation to N1,602.17/$1 from N1,605.74/$1 traded Wednesday, data from the Financial Markets Dealers Quotes (FMDQ) exchange showed. The supply of US dollars at the foreign exchange market plunged by 42 percent to $168.98 on Wednesday, days after Binance announced its exit from the Nigerian exchange market. FMDQ data showed that the turnover of the dollar plunged on Wednesday to $168.98 at the close of work from $291.74 on Tues-day. The figure represents a $122.76 reduction in dollar supply compared to $291.74 on Tuesday. The development had led to a consecutive drop in the Naira at the official forex market to 1,605.74 per dollar on Wednesday and N1,602.43 the previous day. Also, at the parallel foreign exchange market, the local currency depreciated to N1,620/$1 on Thursday as against N1,610/$1 to the greenback which it closed at on Wednesday. Also, the Great Britain Pound (GBP) traded on Thursday at N2,060/£ from N2,030/£1 which it closed at on Wednesday, reflecting increased demand pressure.