By John Ikani
The gap in exchange rates between Nigeria’s official and unofficial foreign exchange (FX) markets has significantly widened, surpassing a 100 percent increase, as the naira’s value fell across markets on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the divergence between the official and parallel FX markets stood at N212 per dollar, compared to the N1.83 rate observed on June 22, 2023, following FX reforms.
As of Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the dollar was priced at N848.12 in the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) forex window, whereas it reached N1,060 in the parallel market.
Notably, on Tuesday, June 21, 2023, the naira-to-dollar exchange rate had aligned at N756 for both markets, coinciding with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) unification of the FX windows during that same month.
This rate convergence and the subsequent closing of the exchange rate gap were outcomes of recent foreign exchange (FX) policy adjustments implemented by the CBN.
During the FX auction on Tuesday, data from the FMDQ revealed that willing buyers and sellers submitted bids ranging from a highest of N981 per dollar to a lowest of N700 per dollar.
In addition, the daily turnover in the foreign exchange market saw a notable surge, recording a remarkable 211.62 percent increase, rising from $43.09 million on Monday to $134.28 million.
