The local currency, Naira closed the week on a high note in the parallel market, reaching N1,520 against the dollar, making it the strongest performance for the currency throughout the week.
This rate is N14 stronger than the official rate posted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which stood at N1,534/$1 as of market close on Thursday.
This development marks a continued appreciation trend in the unofficial market, where the naira climbed steadily from N1,550/$1 on Tuesday to N1,530/$1 on Wednesday, further improving to N1,535/$1 on Thursday, before settling at N1,520/$1 on Friday.
In contrast, the official exchange market remained relatively stable but less competitive. The naira closed at N1,534/$1 on Thursday, a modest gain from N1,537/$1 on Wednesday, and slightly below N1,536/$1 on Tuesday.
Last week, the naira the gap between the official and parallel exchange markets when the currency traded at N1,535 to the dollar in the parallel market, just N1 less than the N1,536/$1 rate recorded at the official market.
Data on the CBN website, last week, shows the naira closed at N1,536/$1 on Thursday, a depreciation from N1,531/$1 on Wednesday.
Intra-day trading on Thursday shows that the naira traded highest at N1,538/$1 and lowest at N1,520/$1, according to data on CBN website on Friday.
However, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed to $38.45 billion from last week’s $37.78 billion. This represents a 1.77per cent increase week-on-week.
The development comes as part of ongoing efforts to stabilise the naira and attract foreign investment.
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