Naira appreciates against dollar at official, black markets

The naira appreciated against the dollar, both at the official and the black markets on Wednesday. The naira exchanged at N155.4 against the dollar, compared to the exchange rate of N155.44 on July 3 at the official market, indicating a gain of 4 kobo. At the Bureau De Change, the naira exchanged for N157 against the dollar compared to N158on July 3, up by N1.

But at the black market it was went for N158 against the N158.50 on July 3, gaining 50 kobo. Traders attributed the appreciation to the sales of forex at the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS). The WDAS is a trading wing of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where forex is sold to authorised dealers who are mostly the banks. Also, the naira appreciated against the pound sterling and the euro at the two markets. The naira gained against the pound sterling, selling at N243.10 at the official market as against N243.63 on Tuesday.

However, the nation’s currency remained stable against the pound sterling at N245 at both the Bureau De Change and the black market to N246.53 on July 3. The naira was exchanged with euro at N195.23 at the official market but changed hands at N197.27 at the Bureau De Change and N198 at black markets on Tuesday.