The Nigerian Naira experienced a further decline in value on Monday within the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), reaching N1,629 against the United States dollar. This represents a depreciation of N29 compared to the indicative exchange rate of N1,600 per dollar recorded last week Friday, according to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
A similar trend was observed in the parallel market, where the Naira also weakened, trading at N1,570 per dollar, down from N1,565 per dollar over the weekend. This parallel market depreciation, coupled with the NFEM decline, resulted in a widening gap between the two exchange rates.
Specifically, the disparity between the parallel market rate and the NFEM rate increased to N59 per dollar. This marks a significant widening from the N35 per dollar difference recorded at the end of the previous week, highlighting the continued volatility and divergence within Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.