The dollar index remained steady as the naira showed some strength at the official market on Wednesday. This offered relief to both the naira and the Nigerian capital market after a sharp decline in the previous quarter.
According to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the naira appreciated against the dollar on Tuesday, trading at N1561.76 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market compared to N1635 per dollar at the week’s first trading session. This reflected a gain of N73.4 per dollar within a day at the NAFEM.
However, the naira remained below the N1650 per dollar mark in the parallel market, closing at N1,680 per dollar on Tuesday.
The Nigerian government announced the commencement of crude oil and refined product sales in naira, which will strengthen the local currency.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, confirmed that the official sale of these products in naira began on October 1 2024, following a directive from the Federal Executive Council.
“The launch of this strategic initiative was confirmed by key stakeholders after a meeting of the Implementation Committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance on October 3, 2024, to conduct a post-launch review of the Naira Crude Oil and Refined Products Initiative,” the statement read.