Official and Black Market Rates Show Continued Depreciation
The naira continued its downward trend against the dollar on Friday, closing the week weaker in both official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) official FX rate, the naira depreciated to N1,540.00 per dollar on Friday, down from N1,532.00 recorded on Thursday, marking an N8 drop.
In the black market, the currency fared worse, closing at N1,660.00 per dollar, compared to N1,640.00 the previous day.
On a week-to-week basis, the naira sustained losses, having closed at N1,535.00 and N1,600.00 per dollar in the official and parallel FX markets, respectively, last Friday.
Market Adjustments Continue
The depreciation comes amid ongoing adjustments within Nigeria’s FX markets following the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS). The system, aimed at fostering transparency in foreign exchange transactions, appears yet to stabilize the volatile naira-dollar exchange rates.
Market analysts note that the persistent decline reflects the pressures of high demand for the dollar and limited FX supply.
