No more N850/$: Naira reverses direction, gains N31 to dollar on new inflation rate

The naira reversed direction on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, to gain after two days of dip at the beginning of the week.…CONTINUE READING

Official NAFEM data shows that the naira gained N31.23 or 3.81% to close at N818.99/$1 at the end of the day compared to the N850.22/$1 it closed on Tuesday.

In the unofficial market, however, the naira remained unchanged from the previous day to close at N1140/$1.

This comes after a report that Nigeria’s inflation rose to 27.33% in October 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics data.

This represents a 0.61% point increase compared to the 26.72% in September 2023.

The headline inflation rate was 6.24% points high on a year-on-year basis.

As contained in a BusinessDay report, the CBN claimed that its monetary policy reforms are already beginning to take shape.

The bank’s Director of Corporate Communications Department, Isa AbdulMumin, said the recent inflation data indicated the CBN’s monetary policy stance to tighten and its money market reforms were yielding the desired effect.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on Monday, November 13, 2023, that it had reversed the December deadline for withdrawing old naira notes from circulation, Legit.ng reported.

The declaration meant old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would remain legal tender alongside the newly redesigned notes until they gradually faded from circulation.

However, some financial experts have said that the CBN order contravened the Supreme Court directive, allowing the order to phase out the old notes by December 2023.