The black market recorded another day’s improvement in the naira-dollar exchange rate on Thursday, 17th August 2023. Following the same trend, the official I&E window witnessed a positive movement on Thursday, 16th August 2023 

The naira appreciated by 1.92% to close at N759.86 per dollar, compared to the previous day’s closing rate of N774.77 per dollar. This means that the naira gained N14.91 against the dollar in one day in the I&E window. 

Breakdown of data 

• I&E FX window – The data from the I&E FX window showed that the Niara started the day at N781.66/$1, but it fluctuated during the day, reaching a peak of N799/$1 and a trough of N740 per dollar. It then recovered and ended the day at N759.86 per dollar.

• A sharp drop of 36.17% in the forex supply at the I&E window was recorded on Wednesday, as it plunged from $95.79 million to $61.14 million in the intraday market session. This resulted in a $34.65 million loss in forex turnover.
   
• Parallel market – The Naira gained 2.25% against the dollar on Thursday 17th August 2023, closing at N870/$1 among traders, compared to N890/$1 on Wednesday.
   
• The black-market exchange rate continued its gain trajectory from the significant gains the previous day as dealers bought it at N850 and sold it at N870.
   
• The naira has made considerable gains in the parallel market since the week started, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s statement on sanctioning foreign exchange speculators at the beginning of the week.

• The Naira to dollar rate at the P2P exchange market continued to improve on Thursday, 17th August 2023. The Naira gained 2.25% from the previous session’s rate of N890/$1 and traded at N870/$1.
   
• the Naira gained again today against the British pound, rising by 2.95% from N1185/£1 on Wednesday to N1150/£1 on Thursday.  

External Reserves:

The central bank’s latest data shows a slight drop in the country’s external reserves, which went down from $33.845 billion to $33.094 billion as of August 15th, 2023.