The naira has continued to rise against the dollar, appreciating N1,136/$ at the official market and below N1,000/$ at the parallel market at the close of trading activities on Monday.
Goldman Sachs had projected that the local currency could exchange below N1,000 in some segments of the parallel market.
The American investment bank’s economists stated that the naira’s bullish momentum on the foreign exchange market would likely cause it to trade for less than N1,000 per a US dollar in the coming months.
It claimed that the rally in the Nigerian currency helped recover from large losses after two devaluations since last June, by being bolstered by capital inflows and successive interest rate hikes.
According to reports, the naira closed in the official NAFEM window at N1,142/$1 on Friday, April 12, 2024. As of Monday, it closed at N1,136/$1, gaining N6.
However, at the parallel market, the dollar continued to fall following the CBN’s ongoing intervention which involves selling foreign exchange to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators at a revised rate.
The market anticipates higher inflows of the dollar from the sales of foreign currency bonds in the second quarter, revealed Finance Minister, Wale Edun. This came when the government offered high-yield short-term debt products at a premium to entice overseas capital into the economy.
