The Naira strengthened against the Dollar in the black market on Saturday December 21 2024 as the exchange rate dropped to N1590 per Dollar down from N1620 per Dollar on Friday December 20 2024. Meanwhile operators via AbokiFX reported buying rates for the Dollar ranging from as low as N1630 to as high as N1700.
In the official market the Naira closed at N1541 per Dollar on December 19 according to data from the FMDQ Securities Limited.
The Naira recent upward trend is largely attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) implementation of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) which introduced new guidelines for authorised FX dealers earlier this month.
To ease the pressure on the official market the CBN also granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary access to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) the official market as part of its efforts to further stabilize the Naira. Starting December 19 2024 BDC operators will have access to FX at the official rate until January 30 2025 with a weekly cap of $25000. Transactions will require upfront funding and adhere to a maximum 1% spread.
The EFEMS platform launched on December 2 2024 aims to promote “transparent fair and efficient FX trading” while minimizing counterparty risks and enforcing compliance with CBN regulations according to Mrs. Omolara Duke the CBN director of financial markets.
Since the launch of the EFEMS platform the Naira has gained over N250 against the Dollar in the official market between December 2 and December 20 2024.
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