Naira Gets Stronger, Grows by 15% Against Dollar

The Naira gained almost 15% against the dollar in a week. In cities like Lagos and Abuja, it traded at N820 per dollar.

Trusted sources told The Guardian that many traders sold their dollars quickly. They were worried the dollar’s value might drop more.

One trader said he was eager to sell his dollars. He thinks the Naira might become even stronger and trade at N700 per dollar by the weekend. This growth started at the beginning of the week.

Another trader said he still has many dollars. He bought them when one dollar was N920. He said, “Right now, there’s no set price. People sell as soon as they can. They don’t know what the price will be tomorrow. The dollar is dropping fast compared to the Naira, and this is causing a lot of worry.”

Even with this rush to sell, The Guardian found out that not many dollars were being sold. This means there’s not much liquid money.

Some people think the Naira’s growth is because of feelings, not because of strong market reasons.

The Guardian said that two days after President Bola Tinubu and the Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Folashodun Shonubi, talked about the foreign money market, the Naira got a bit stronger. It traded at N880 per dollar in the middle of the week.

The value of the dollar was very high last week, at N950 per dollar. This was because people were worried there weren’t enough dollars.

If this growth keeps up, the official and the black market might have the same price soon. Right now, the difference in prices is less than N100 per dollar.

Last week, the price difference in the black market was N200 per dollar. This was the first time since June. Back then, there was a change to bring all the different exchange rates together.

In the past, during a difficult time, the price difference was 100%. This was the biggest difference since 1999, when Nigeria became a democracy. During the time of the military, the difference was even bigger. This caused a lot of dishonest business, with people getting licenses just to deal in foreign money.

In Abuja, traders were unhappy because they lost money. They were getting less Naira for each dollar they sold.

Adamu Alhassan, a money changer, said, “Last week, one dollar was N950. Now, we buy for N820 and sell for N850. We don’t know what will happen next.”

A customer, Samuel Itodo, was happy the Naira was stronger. He said, “I’m surprised the dollar dropped so fast. I was worried that things would become expensive. In Nigeria, if the dollar’s price goes up, things cost more. But will this last?”