The Nigerian naira opened the new trading week around the ₦1,300-per-dollar range, with the latest official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) data showing a rate of ₦1,337.29 to the dollar at the end of trading on Friday.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the NFEM rate stood at ₦1,337.2873 per dollar on Aug. 28, while the closing rate was ₦1,337.00.
The official NFEM rate is calculated using a volume-weighted average of transactions conducted in the foreign exchange market.
The naira strengthened during the previous week, moving from ₦1,349.99 per dollar on Aug. 24 to ₦1,337 per dollar on Aug. 28, representing an appreciation of about 0.96 per cent.
In the parallel market, the dollar was quoted at about ₦1,400 on Friday, according to market data published by AbokiFX.
The rate represented a decline of ₦7 from the ₦1,407 per dollar recorded in the parallel market the previous day.
The difference between the parallel-market rate and the official NFEM rate stood at about ₦63.
Meanwhile, a live indicative USD/NGN rate available early Monday put the dollar at around ₦1,346.78. However, this differs from the official NFEM closing rate, which reflects the most recent completed trading session.
Foreign exchange liquidity also remained relatively strong, with NFEM turnover reaching $1.06 billion in one trading session last week.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves also continued to provide support for the naira, according to the market data.
For Monday, Aug. 31, the latest official NFEM closing rate therefore puts the dollar at about ₦1,337, while the parallel-market rate stands at around ₦1,400.
The rates may change as trading resumes and market conditions around foreign exchange demand and supply evolve.
Banks, Bureau de Change operators and other authorised dealers may also offer rates different from the published NFEM and parallel-market reference rates because of transaction margins and prevailing market conditions.
