The naira on Wednesday depreciated against the dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), known as the official market.
The local currency dropped to N854. 61/$ compared to the Tuesday close of N844.85 to a dollar recorded at the close of trading.
At the parallel section of the market, the naira appreciated to N1, 228/$ as against N1,238 traded on Tuesday 19, December 2023.
Similarly, the naira appreciated against the Great Britain Pounds (GBP) closing at N1,560/£ on Wednesday compared to the closing rate of N1,570 to the GBP exchanged on Tuesday.
The value of the naira to the dollar appreciated by 1,903 basis points (bps) to print at 889.86/$ last week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
This represented an N11.55 gain or a 1.3 percent increase in the local currency compared to the N901.41 it recorded on Thursday.
The currency depreciated to N1,250 per dollar on Friday in the parallel market from N1,230 per dollar on Thursday.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had said the foreign exchange market will stabilise in 2024.
“Exchange rate pressures are also expected to reduce significantly with the smooth functioning of foreign exchange market,” he said.
Cardoso said his assumptions are based on the outlook for the country’s economy in 2024 which “is very positive”.
Cardoso’s stance was also backed by Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer (CEO) of Financial Derivatives, who said Nigeria’s exchange rate is expected to appreciate as inflation drops in 2024.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is seeking the adoption of the Chinese Yuan (CNY) as an official foreign exchange reserve currency, alongside other major international currencies, to mitigate the impact of the naira’s depreciation.
This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Hon. Jafaru Gambo Leko from Bauchi State at plenary on Wednesday.
Moving the motion, Leko noted that the Nigerian economy has experienced substantial shifts regarding the value of the naira, triggering economic instability and uncertainty.
