Nigeria’s naira weakened 1.28% against the dollar on Friday, 23 October, to 1,361.84 naira per dollar from 1,344.40 a day earlier, while interbank foreign-exchange turnover reached $1.01 billion, according to Central Bank of Nigeria data reported by BusinessDay.
Turnover rose 219.16% from $316.55 million on Thursday as the central bank increased dollar sales to meet demand. The number of transactions increased to 315 from 181 during the session.
On the parallel market, the dollar closed at 1,385 naira, up from 1,373 a day earlier. The gap with the official rate nevertheless narrowed to 24 naira, or 1.76%, from 33 naira in the previous session.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves stood at $55.16 billion on 22 October, up 28.67% from a year earlier, according to the central bank. The buffer strengthens its capacity to intervene but did not prevent the currency from declining in the latest session.
Agusto & Co. analyst Ayokunle Olubunmi and Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise chief executive Muda Yusuf said a longer data series would be needed to determine whether demand reflected one-off import payments, profit-taking or a lasting shift in capital flows.