The Naira has continued its bullish run against the dollar in both the official and black market in what experts attributed to the improved and innovative forex policy of the Yemi Cardoso-led Central Bank of Niger, CBN.
On Friday, naira grossed a slight appreciation at the official market, trading at N1,431.49 to a dollar while at the black market, it traded at N1,490 to a dollar. This has been the trend from last week giving impetus to earlier projections that the naira mat settle at about N1,300/dollar in the second quarter of this year.
Cardoso had promised to apply all sound fiscal policies including strategic forex management to shore up the sagging value of the naira since last year when the naira was floated.
Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ revealed that the Naira strengthened by N21.79 or 1.5 per cent, compared to the previous day’s rate of N1,453.28 against the dollar on Friday.
But total turnover suffered a decrease to $199.71 million on Friday, down from $288.47 million recorded on Thursday.
At the Investor’s and Exporters’ (I&E) window, the Naira traded between N1,468 and N1,301 against the dollar.
The CBN had earlier announced the completion of clearance of the valid foreign exchange backlog, signaling a positive development in the forex market. This has been hailed as a significant landmark in the CBN quest to get the naira find its real value as well as help ease pressure on investors just so they can invest more in the country.
Recall that international airlines jacked up flight tickets
On the impact of forex intervention, researchers at Cordros Securities said, “The recent overhaul and increased intervention in the FX market have bolstered confidence and facilitated Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) inflows into the forex market.”
They also highlighted renewed interest from foreign portfolio investors in the fixed-income market, as stop rates on the long-end bills rose above 20.0 per cent.
