The Nigerian naira appreciated on the parallel market on Tuesday. It gained 9.65 per cent against the dollar.
Forex traders attributed the rise of the currency to Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) plan to restart forex sales to Bureaux de Change.
The naira, which had weakened to a low N480 at the black market in recent months, firmed from its previous trade of N477 on Friday.
Traders at the black market, on Monday, refused to show quotes as panic set in following the central bank’s announcement about retail currency operators last Thursday.
With support by the apex bank, the official market quoted the naira at 381, where it has been stuck since July. It traded at N386.03 per dollar on the over-the-counter spot market.
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered an oil price crash, dollar shortages have plauged the local currency market; slashing government revenues, weakening the naira and widening the country’s funding need.
The naira had been hitting new lows at the black market since a devaluation of 15 percent in March, which coincided at a time when the CBN suspended dollar sales to the market due to lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.