The Nigerian naira has recorded a significant milestone, increasing quickly against the US dollar on the official Exchange Rate Futures Electronic Market System (EFEMS) market. On Friday, December 6, 2024, it closed at N1,535 for every $1.
This naira’s appreciation marks the fourth day in a row of gains since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) started the Enhanced Foreign Exchange Market System (EFEMS). During the day, the highest rate was N1,575, and the lowest was N1,510, with the average rate being N1,533.
In the black market, the exchange rate dropped significantly to around N1,570 for each $1. This unusual situation had more sellers than buyers, with some even selling dollars for as little as N1,500 per $1.
Popular cryptocurrency platforms like Bamboo and Trove quoted rates to convert naira to dollars at N1,549.50 and N1,629.49, respectively. As of 8pm Nigerian time, Bitcoin was selling for $101,000, and other cryptocurrencies showed signs of increasing in value before the expected Trump Presidency.
The implementation of EFEMS has improved transparency and efficiency in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market by bringing all forex transactions into one place and making daily exchange rates clear and available to everyone.
Market analysts attribute the naira’s stronger performance is due to increased confidence in its direction and less speculation, which has reduced the difference between official and black market rates. This gap has now decreased to less than N35, which is about 2.3%.
