By Aaior K. Comfort

The Naira has continued its downward trend, depreciating to N1,635.15 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM). According to data from FMDQ, the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose from N1,631.21 per dollar last Friday to N1,635.15, marking a depreciation of N3.94.

In contrast, the Naira showed slight improvement in the parallel market, appreciating to N1,660 per dollar from N1,665 last weekend.

The volume of dollars traded in the official market saw a significant decline, dropping by 47% to $126.24 million from $238.36 million traded the previous weekend. As a result, the gap between the parallel market rate and the official NAFEM rate narrowed to N24.85 per dollar from N33.79 per dollar recorded last Friday.

This ongoing depreciation highlights the pressure on the Naira as the demand for foreign exchange continues to outstrip supply in both official and parallel markets.