By Seun Ibiyemi
The naira weakened across both the parallel and Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) segments on Monday, while foreign exchange market turnover recorded a sharp decline.
In the parallel market, the naira depreciated to N1,382 per dollar from N1,378 recorded last weekend.
Similarly, the currency weakened in the NFEM, with the indicative exchange rate moving to N1,331.5 per dollar from N1,330.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the N1.5 depreciation in the official market pushed the exchange rate higher from N1,330 per dollar at the end of the previous week.
The divergent movements across the two market segments widened the gap between the parallel and NFEM rates to N50.5 per dollar, compared with N48 per dollar last Friday.
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The wider spread indicates an increase in the difference between the rates obtainable in the two segments of the foreign exchange market.
Meanwhile, activity in the NFEM declined sharply, with interbank turnover falling by 77.7 per cent to $24.73 million from $111.06 million recorded last weekend.
The decline in turnover came as the naira weakened in the official market, with the indicative rate rising by N1.5 per dollar.
The latest movement leaves the foreign exchange market closely focused on liquidity conditions and dollar supply as the naira continues to trade within a relatively narrow range across the two major market segments.
