Naira value picks up after depreciating 15.15% in two months

Naira again on Thursday gained over the US dollar by N0.40k/$ or 0.2 percent at the inter-bank foreign exchange market.
After trading on Thursday, the local currency closed at N199.22k/$ as against N199.62k/$ the previous day, data from Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ) revealed.

The naira gains this week are coming after the value of the local currency had depreciated by 15.15 percent within two months.
An analysis by FSDH of the foreign exchange rate of the local currency indicated that the value of the naira depreciated against the US dollar by 15.15% from US$/N168 in January to US$/N198 at the end of February. The fall in the international prices of food helped to counter the effect of the depreciation in the naira. In addition, the local prices have not reflected the effect of the currency depreciation because of delayed effect, the report noted.

Naira has tumbled on the political and economic turmoil, although dealers expected a steadier currency next week as the central bank maintains tight controls on trade. The central bank last month said it would sell dollars only at N198 to customers through the interbank. “There is not much activity going on in the market, we are just going with the flow as directed by the central bank,” one dealer told Reuters. Dealers said the central bank has fixed the rate at which banks can buy dollars from oil companies at not more than N2 spread to its clearing rate