By Elizabeth Adegbesan

The naira yesterday depreciated to N1,043.09 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
This represents the second consecutive time the official market rate crossed the N1,000 per dollar threshold this year.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,043.09 per dollar from N872.59 per dollar on Wednesday indicating a 20 percent fall or N170.5 depreciation for the naira.
The market recorded an intraday high of N1,235.65 per dollar and an intraday low of N720 per dollar resulting in a margin of N515.65 per dollar.

The volume of dollars traded on the window increased by 34.6 percent to $83.63 million from $127.93 million traded on Wednesday.

However, the naira yesterday appreciated to N1,210 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,230 per dollar on Wednesday.

Consequently, the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates narrowed to N166.91 per dollar yesterday from N357.41 per dollar on Wednesday.