Breaking: Naira appreciates against the US dollar, trades at N767/$1 on June 23, 2023

Naira has appreciated against the US dollar as it trades at N767/$1 on June 23, 2023.

In our close of the week currency update, we bring you the latest developments in the Nigerian Naira’s exchange rates against major currencies. As of Friday, June 23, 2023, the Naira showcased notable appreciation against the US Dollar, while experiencing slight fluctuations with the British Pound and Euro.

According to reports from BDC traders, the Naira strengthened against the US Dollar, trading at an average exchange rate of N767/$1 on the black market. This marks a significant increase of 0.65% compared to the previous day’s trading session where the Dollar traded at N772/$1.

In a similar vein, the Naira saw a slight appreciation against the British Pound, with an average exchange rate of N970/£1 on June 23, 2023. This indicates a 0.51% increase from the previous day’s trading session where the Naira traded at N970/£1.

However, the Naira experienced a 0.61% depreciation against the Euro, trading at an average exchange rate of N830/€1 on June 23, 2023. This contrasts with the previous trading session where the Naira traded at N825/€1.

It is important to understand that currency fluctuations are a natural occurrence in the global foreign exchange market. Factors such as economic indicators, geopolitical events, and market sentiment contribute to the dynamic nature of currency valuations. Staying informed about these factors is crucial for investors and individuals involved in currency trading to make well-informed decisions.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that black-market exchange rates can vary significantly across different locations within the country. These variations arise due to factors such as survey timing, supply and demand dynamics, purchasing power, and other relevant economic considerations.

Breakdown of the currency rates as of June 23, 2023 is given as below:

Naira/Dollar (NGN/USD)

• Buy rate – N763/$1
• Sell rate – N767/$1

Naira/Pound (NGN/GBP)

• Buy rate – N952/£1
• Sell rate – N970/£1

Naira/Euro (NGN/EUR)

• Buy rate – N815/€1
• Sell rate – N830/€1

However, at the cryptocurrency P2P Exchange market, the FX rate experienced a slight appreciation, trading at a minimum of N774.66/$1 on Friday 23, June 2023. This represents a 0.53% increase from the last trading session when it recorded N778.80/$1. These figures are according to data obtained from a P2P exchange platform.

Breakdown of the peer-to-peer rates is given below:

Naira/Dollar (NGN/USD)

• Buy rate – N772.00/$1
• Sell rate – N774.66/$1

 Exchange market closes at N765.13/$1 at official market on 22nd June 2023

The official exchange market ended the trading day on 22nd June 2023 with the naira at N765.13 per US dollar. This was a slight decrease from the previous day’s rate of N763.17 per dollar.

In a major policy shift, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unified all foreign exchange (FX) market segments under the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on June 14, 2023. This means that the official, parallel and other market rates would no longer exist, and all transactions would be done at the I&E rate. This move was aimed at improving FX liquidity and transparency in the country.

This is according to Nairametrics daily currency update, based on data tracked and compiled from FMDQ Exchange.

On Thursday 22nd June 2023, the I&E forex exchange window recorded a 1.66% drop in the opening rate of the naira against the dollar. The exchange rate was N753.5/$1, compared to N741.21/$1 in the previous session.

The Nigeria naira recorded the highest rate of N801 to a dollar within the day’s trading, this represents a 1.72% decline from the previous day’s rate of N815/$1. The IEFX exchange market recorded a 6.24% appreciation in the lowest rate, which closed at N466.32/$1 from N476/$1 in the previous session.

Trading volume surged by 112.4% on Thursday at the official Investors and Exporters window, where $204.84 million was traded, compared to $96.44 million in the previous session.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves, which are assets held by the central bank in foreign currencies, bonds and other securities, declined slightly by 0.12% to $34.45 billion on Tuesday, 20th June 2023. This was a drop of $40 million from the previous day’s level of $34.49 billion.

Other indices

• The exchange’s debt market size rose marginally to N38.54 trillion on Thursday 22nd June 2023, from N38.5 trillion on Wednesday 21st June 2023.
• The Money market overnight rate fell sharply by 2.9 percentage points to 9% on Wednesday 20th June 2023, from 11.9% on the previous day. The Open Repo rate decreased significantly by 2.67 percentage points and reached 8.83% today. This is a sharp contrast to the previous session’s rate of 11.5%.
• The S&P Sovereign Bond index recorded a N635.7 index level on Wednesday 21st June 2023. The index grew by 1.89%, 3.91% and 3.49% for the month, quarter and year respectively.
• On Wednesday, 21st June 2023, the NAFEX rate experienced a notable decline of 0.72%, closing at N732.79/$1. This was a sharp contrast to the previous day’s rate of N727.58/$1, which was recorded on Tuesday 20th June 2023.
• The Nigerian Inter-Bank Offered (O/N) rate for overnight lending was 11.96% on Wednesday, 21st June 2023. The longer-term rates for 1-month, 3-month and 6-month lending were 12.43%, 13.18% and 13.65%, respectively.
• The Nigerian Inter-Bank Treasury Bills True Yields (NITTY) showed a mixed trend on Wednesday, 21st June 2023. The shortest tenor (1-month) recorded a slight decline to 3.74%, while the longer tenors (3-month to 12-month) increased to 4.79%, 6.11%, 7.94% and 8.66%, respectively.