October 05, (THEWILL) – The naira plunged deeper into depreciation on Thursday shedding 2.5 percent as it exchanged N775.20 to a dollar, against N756.21 it traded at the I&E window a day before.
This is about the lowest dip in the past seven days when the local currency traded at N775.35 to a dollar on September 28, 2023.
It also massively reversed the gain of the opening day on October 3, when the local currency traded at N745.19 to the dollar against N755.37 it closed on the previous day.
The turbulent fortune of the naira manifested further when the open indicative rate for the day showed N775.15 to the dollar with the spot exchange rate hitting N800 during the day’s trading.
This reflects a striking peak in the currency’s volatile trend, before it braced an altitude towards its ultimate equilibrium at N775.20 to a dollar.
Amid the tumultuous exchange rate scenario, the I&E window recorded a drop in the volume of activity (turnover) to $94.34 million on Thursday, from $95.74 million a day before, representing a 1.5 percent dip.
Total turnover month-to-date is $271.06 million.
The continued volatile scenario in Nigeria’s financial market points to the fact that the core challenge of dollar shortage remains intractable as the import-dependent economy battles with low oil revenue and shrinking foreign investment inflow.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
