Naira recovers losses after briefly touching new low

After falling to a new low against the dollar on the official market on Tuesday, Naira rebounded on Wednesday after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pumped $1.5 million into the market to stabilise the battered currency, traders said.

According to Reuters report monitored by Business247 News Online, the currency weakened to a record low of 375.50 to the dollar at 1014 GMT, according to Thomson Reuters data. The CBN later sold around $1.5 million to some commercial lenders, helping the naira to close at the previous day’s rate of 305, traders said.

The naira had briefly touched a rate of 365 on Aug. 18 but quickly reversed its losses to close at 324 per dollar at the official window.

An official at trading platform FMDQ confirmed a single trade worth $10,000 had been made at a rate of 376.63 early on Tuesday but gave no further details.

The central bank said in June it would float the naira but has since kept it stable at around 305 versus the dollar via daily interventions.

Liquidity on the official market remains limited and dealers said importers seeking dollars need to go to the black market, where the local currency traded at 465 on Tuesday, slightly up from 470 a dollar previously.