Naira Gains Ground Against US Dollar with Central Bank Intervention

In late January 2024, the Naira showed a slight improvement against the US dollar in the official foreign exchange market, thanks to recent interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria to stabilize its value.
According to data from FMDQ, on Wednesday, the Naira appreciated to N1,455.59 per US dollar from N1,482.57 on Tuesday. This marked a daily gain of N26.98 or a 1.85% increase.
Despite this positive development, the black market rate remained unchanged at N1,470 per US dollar at the closing of Wednesday.
However, it’s important to note that the Naira experienced a significant 37.6% depreciation throughout January 2024.
The Association of Bureau De Change operators announced that it would suspend operations on Thursday due to the scarcity of dollars, indicative of the ongoing challenges in the foreign exchange market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria recently issued new guidelines to address foreign currency hoarding and speculation, in addition to releasing over 500 million dollars in the forex market to clear the FX backlog.
In response to these developments, the Senate has summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, to appear before it next week to address the forex crisis.