The Nigerian naira has appreciated against dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window following the Central Bank’s (CBN’s) unification of exchange rates into the I&E window.
The naira closed at N663 to the dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Friday after what has been the currency’s most eventful week in years.
The naira, which closed at N702/$1 on Thursday came back strong on Friday, closing at N663/$1, a N39/$1 appreciation, according to data from FMDQ Group.
It was the first closing gain for the naira since the rate unification policy took off on Wednesday.
The policy, which allows forex dealers and investors to buy and sell dollars at exchange rate of their choice provided they can find buyers, had pushed the local currency to over 15 years low before the ongoing recovery.
The new policy is part of the bold reforms promised by President Bola Tinubu.
Recall that, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular to the effect that all exchange rates in the country will now follow the “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement at the I&E window, effectively floating the naira.
Since then, the naira has traded at a record high of N791 per dollar but recovered to close the week at N663.04 to the greenback.
The CBN also ditched the previous official rate of N463 per dollar to adopt the weighted average of transactions at the I&E window.
Currently, the apex bank is quoting N589/$ on its website as the weighted average of transactions carried out at the I&E window on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
This is a recovery from N632.77 quoted by the bank — only 24 hours earlier.
