Naira Settles at N1,667.42 in I&E Window on September 25

The Nigerian naira is getting weaker compared to the US dollar. On September 25, 2024, it ended the day at N1,667.42 in the official Investor and Exporter (I&E) market.

This means the naira lost 0.54% value from the previous day’s N1,658.48, continuing its struggle in the 1,600 range.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is trying to help the naira. They are selling $20,000 more to each Bureau De Change (BDC) at an official price of N1,590 per dollar.

Important Information 

Closing Exchange Rate: On September 25, the naira ended at N1,667.42 per dollar. This was 0.54% lower than the N1,658.48 of September 24.

Day’s Highs and Lows: During the day, the naira traded between a high of N1,699/$1 and a low of N1,600/$1 before settling at N1,667.42.

Market Turnover: The I&E market had a turnover of $100.47 million, a big drop of 39.60% from the previous day’s $166.36 million. In August, the total turnover was $3.3 billion, less than July’s $4.34 billion.

Parallel Market Rates: In the parallel market, the naira started at N1,597.98 to the dollar. It moved between a high of N1,674.00 and a low of N1,597.98 before closing at N1,653.27.

Market Trends 

The naira has been struggling since July when it went past N1,600, amidst lots of ups and downs.

Since then, it has been between N1,500 and N1,600, hoping to get stronger when the dollar is weak.

This year, the naira has lost about 75% of its value, mainly due to high inflation and more people wanting foreign currency.

However, Nigeria’s external reserves went up from $36.305 billion in August to $36.730 billion by mid-September.

Things You Should Know 

• The CBN is selling another $20,000 to each BDC at N1,590/$1 to help reduce the pressure on the naira.
• CBN says BDC operators can sell this foreign exchange to those who need it with a margin not more than 1% above the buying rate.
• BDCs wanting to buy dollars must make naira payments to specific CBN deposit accounts.

What to Expect 

• CBN’s selling of dollars to BDCs aims to ease the pressure on the naira by providing more foreign exchange through official channels, which should reduce the demand in the parallel market.
• Recent increases in interest rates to attract foreign investment may also help the naira in the coming weeks.
• More actions to stabilize the currency are expected as the CBN works to lower dollar demand and strengthen the naira.