The naira weakened against the United States dollar in the parallel market on Tuesday, falling to N1,420 per dollar from N1,408 recorded on Monday, even as it posted a slight appreciation in the official foreign exchange market.
Latest figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency strengthened marginally at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), with the indicative exchange rate improving to N1,362 per dollar, compared to N1,365 per dollar a day earlier.
The movement represents a N3 appreciation for the naira in the official market.
However, the contrasting performance in both markets widened the exchange rate gap between the parallel and official windows to N58 per dollar, up from N43 per dollar recorded on Monday.
Meanwhile, trading activity in the official market recorded an increase, with interbank turnover at the NFEM rising by 13.97 per cent.
According to CBN data, total turnover climbed to $156.2 million on Tuesday from $137.05 million recorded the previous day, reflecting stronger market activity despite the divergent exchange rate movements.
