The Nigerian Naira on Thursday depreciated in the parallel market to N1,515 per dollar after closing at N1,495 per dollar on Wednesday, Africa Today News, New York reports.
Similarly, the Naira depreciated to N1,485.66 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,485.66 per dollar from N1,462.59 per dollar on Wednesday, indicating N23.07 depreciation for the naira.
The market recorded an intraday high of N1,510 per dollar and an intraday low of N1,401 per dollar, resulting in a bearing of N109 per dollar.
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The volume of dollars traded (turnover) increased by 35.7 percent to $167.55 million from $123.45 million on Wednesday.
Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates narrowed to N29.34 per dollar from N33.59 per dollar on Wednesday.
In another report, Chief Atedo Peterside who is the founder of Stanbic IBTC and ANAP Foundation has asserted that the urgency with which the President Bola Tinubu-led administration wants the Naira to appreciate against the dollar and other foreign currencies is not the best approach if he is serious about returning the currency to a stronger position.
Peterside, who spoke in a TV program monitored by Africa Today News, New York on Thursday, subtly exonerated the current administration from the depreciation of Naira however, insisted that hurrying to make the currency gain strength won’t work out.
According to him, the best approach would be for the central bank to stabilise the naira to a level where they can sustain it for some time and gradually build the reserve.
“I will be fair to this government, they inherited the exchange rate problem and what they have been doing is trying to manage it. Recently I would have thought, let’s get some stability around N1,300 or N1,400, don’t be in a hurry to appreciate the exchange rate.
“Going to sell dollar to bureau de change at N1,000, N1,050, those guys will turn round two weeks later and sell it at N1,400, N1,500 and they go away laughing. What’s the point for that?
“It’s better to have some stability they can sustain, keep between N1,300 and N1,300 which looks to be the natural equilibrium band today, keep it there for a while, build up your reserve to let confidence come back.
“So stop trying to appreciate the naira in a hurry, it’s not going to work,” Peterside said.
The naira which had earlier fallen to around 1,900 to a dollar later rallied to around 1,100 which saw it recently declared as the best-performing currency in the world.