The Big Boost in Exchange Rate: Naira Finishes Strong at N742/$1

Exchange Rate Surges – Closes at N742/$1 on I&E Window

Key Points:

• The Naira, Nigeria’s currency, had a big win against the dollar, ending at N742.93/$1 on the I&E Window.
• This change marks the largest single-day increase in the exchange rate since at least 2019.
• The P2P black market rate dropped to N841/$1, showing signs of the Naira strengthening.

Naira’s Big Win Against Dollar

The Naira, our country’s money, had a fantastic day on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. It grew stronger by 6.58% against the US dollar, ending the day at N742.93 for every dollar on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window. This improvement is a big deal. It’s the highest daily increase we’ve ever seen since the new I&E window began on July 14, 2023. In fact, it’s the best day we’ve had since 2019, at least.

Foreign Exchange Turnover Jumps Up

Here’s another exciting bit of news. The foreign exchange (FX) turnover shot up by a massive 352%. It ended the day at 156.29 trillion. This number shows the amount of foreign money that was traded. This is the largest amount we’ve seen since June 30, 2023.

Exchange Rate Still Showing Strength

Even with this big improvement, there were moments in the day when the Naira was even stronger. At one point, it was N831 for every dollar. But there’s more. The Person-to-Person (P2P) black market rate, another way we measure the Naira’s value, fell to N841 for every dollar. These numbers tell us that the Naira is gaining power.

Over the last 10 days, the Naira has been getting weaker. This weakness might have caused more supply in the I&E window.

Trading Activities Are Increasing

We don’t have solid facts to back this up. But, the rise in the amount of foreign money traded suggests more trading activities. More people are buying and selling.

However, there’s still a big demand for foreign money in the black market. This demand is high because there’s not much supply. The result is that the Naira is weaker in the black market than in the I&E window.

Exchange Rate Disparity

To end with, let’s talk about the difference in the exchange rates. When we finished the day at N742.93 for every dollar, the difference between the I&E window rate and the black market rate was between N80 and N100. This difference is one of the highest we’ve seen.

To sum up, the Naira had a great day against the dollar on July 18, 2023. It ended at N742.93/$1, marking a significant improvement. Despite the remaining challenges, this growth shows that the Naira is on a path to get stronger.