Data collected on Thursday from FMDQ Exchange indicated that the total value of transactions registered at the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market decreased from $465.29 million on Tuesday to $203.93 million on Wednesday.
The PUNCH reported that this shows that the volume and value of transactions on NAFEM, the official FX market, have decreased by 56% according to the FMDQ site.
The value of FX transactions on the platform steadily increased after a series of circulars from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which was followed by this decline in FX transactions.
Among other things, the CBN had issued circulars last week requiring banks to sell their surplus dollar holdings.
It also released instructions asking banks and FX dealers to report correct and transparent FX trading data.
On Thursday, the naira experienced a 1.4% decline in value against the dollar on the parallel market due to the robust demand for dollars.
It was trading at N1,480/$, which is N20 less than the N1,460/$ posted on the black market on Wednesday.
Bureau De Change operators stated that the rate had continued to rise steadily all week.
According to BDC operator, Abdulahi Taura, the dollar is strengthening because there is a steady demand for the US currency.
“The dollar is now worth N1,480. Because more people are requesting it, the amount is rising.
A different BDC operator, Ibrahim Yahu, reported that the greenback was sold at N1,482 as the closing rate.
The FMDQ Exchange website has reports indicating that the naira depreciated more versus the US dollar in the official market.
In comparison to the N1434.53/dollar reported on Wednesday, it closed at N1479.47
The value of foreign exchange transactions recorded on the official Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market had dropped from $584m on Monday to $465.29m on Tuesday and $203.93m on Wednesday. The turnover for Thursday was yet to uploaded as of 8:15pm when this report was filed.
