Naira falls to N776.9/$ at I&E window, N793/$ at parallel market

The naira, on Friday, depreciated by 1.87 percent to close at N776.9/$ at the investors and exporters (I&E) window.

Data from FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees foreign exchange (FX) trading in Nigeria, showed that the local currency opened with an exchange rate of N762.5 to the dollar and sold for an intra-day high of N825/$ before closing at N776.9/$.

A total of $73.42 million in FX value was traded at the I&E window on Friday.

Meanwhile, at the parallel market where the dollar is traded unofficially, Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in Lagos said there was high demand for the greenback.

The traders put the buying price of the dollar at N785 and the selling price at N793, leaving a profit margin of N8.

In mid-June, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced major reforms that disrupted the foreign exchange market scope.

Prominent among the policies include the unification of all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market ( allowing the local currency to freely float) and the re-introduction of the “willing buyer, willing seller” model at the I&E window.

Following the apex bank’s directive, the naira depreciated significantly, trading at N 755 per dollar — but later appreciated to close at N664.