Forex traders defy inflation as Naira appreciates to N889.86/$1 at the official market

The naira strengthened against the U.S. dollar at both the official and the parallel market.

This is despite that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate released today by the National Bureau of Statistics increased to 28.20% in November, marking an increase from the October 2023 rate of 27.33.

The overall inflation rate in November rose to 28.20%, surpassing the October 2023 rate of 27.33%. This indicates a month-on-month increase of 0.87%

When compared to November 2022, the year-on-year headline inflation rate was notably higher, marking an increase of 6.73% points from the 21.47% recorded in the same month the previous year. 

The exchange rate between the naira and dollar rose to N889.86/$1 on Friday at the official market. 

This represents an N11.55 gain or a 1.3% increase in the local currency compared to the N901.41 it recorded on Thursday. 
The intraday high recorded was N1126.53/$1, while the intraday low was N700.00/$1, representing a wide spread of N426.53/$1.
According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of the trading was $41.66 million, representing a 71.70% decrease compared to the previous day. 
Similarly, the naira equally recorded gain at the parallel forex market where forex is sold unofficially, the exchange rate closed at N1245/$1 as against N1260/$1 it quoted on Thursday, representing 1.20%, while peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1216.32/$1.