AT THE OFFICIAL MARKET, THE NAIRA IMPROVES VERSUS THE DOLLAR TO N844.85/$1.

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, the value of the Nigerian naira increased in relation to the US dollar, closing at N844.85/$1 on the official market.

Conclusion of business on Tuesday, the native currency gained 5.15% to settle at N888.35/$1 to the dollar, according to figures from the NAFEM, the official forex market.

Comparing this to the N888.35 it closed on Monday, the local currency has gained N43.5, or 5.15%.

· N1189.12/$1 was the intraday high and N720/$1 was the intraday low, indicating a N469.12/$1.

· Data from the official NAFEM window indicates that at the end of trading, there was $111.76 million in currency turnover, which was 18.91% less than the day before.

· Illegal parallel forex market, where currency is sold, the naira had a slight decline by 0.40%, quoted at N1240/$1, while peer-to-peer dealers quoted about N1197.60/$1.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 31 banks have received tranche payments from the CBN.

The Nigerian Naira saw a little decline in value relative to the US dollar in the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), but it appreciated on the black market. Speaking on Wednesday of last week before the National Assembly joint committee on Banking and Insurance, Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, stated that the nation's currency rate should lessen in 2024.

In order to handle the FX concerns, the apex had established foreign exchange frameworks.

The words foreign [currency] combined to form the acronym forex (FX). The process of converting one currency into another for a variety of purposes—usually trade, tourism, or commerce. The Bank for International Settlements, a global bank that serves national central banks, stated in a 2022 triennial report that the daily global volume of FX trading hit $7.5 trillion in 2022.

What experts in economics are saying

In an exclusive interview with, Mr. Olatunde Amolegbe, the Managing Director of Arthur Steven Asset Management Limited and the former President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), stated that market and participant confidence is essential for a stable exchange rate.

· What attracts foreign investors to your country and encourages locals to maintain their investments here is confidence.

· The kind of instability we are currently experiencing results from demand naturally exceeding supply in the absence of these dynamics.

· “I think the decision to clear FX commitment backs will be positive for market confidence, but the desired impact might manifest in the medium term rather than in the short run,” the analyst says.

· Although it's not a magic bullet, I believe that efforts to use monetary policy tools to restrict system liquidity could eventually diminish currency speculation.

· In order to promote import substitution, he stated, “deliberate efforts need to intensify at effecting structural changes such as improved security, better infrastructure, increased foreign direct investments, and encouraging local production.”

The naira is predicted to continue volatile due to persistent concerns about the supply of foreign exchange, according to a report by Bismarck Rewane, the managing director and CEO of Financial Derivatives Company Limited.

Due to the scarcity of dollars, speculative buying is probably going to continue as more and more traders short the naira and take long positions in the dollar.