Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Nigerian business mogul Tony Elumelu has revealed that the newfound stability of the naira is a major boost for investors and business owners in Nigeria.

Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, May 20, the chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) expressed optimism about the naira's recent performance.

Elumelu words:

“The naira is becoming quite stable. I will like to see that continuing."

Elumelu, who is also the biggest shareholder of Transnational Corp. of Nigeria Plc spoke on the importance of a stable currency.

He added:

"Currency volatility is a challenge for Africa and Asia. In the global south, fixing the volatility of our currencies will be very critical for ultimately developing our economies,”

In the last few months, the Central Bank of Nigeria implemented various measures to bolster the naira, amid global trade tensions triggered by tariffs imposed during former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

One of the efforts made is the clearing backlogs of dollar demand.

Other measures include offering high-yield fixed income securities to attract portfolio inflows, and increasing forex market liquidity.

Although not yet perfect, the CBN's move has helped the naira gain and stable between N1,588 and N1,611 per dollar this month.

In the latest exchange rate data released by the CBN for Tuesday, May 20, the naira further appreciated against the US Dollar by 0.48 per cent or N7.69 at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

During the trading session, the exchange rate closed at N1,591.25/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s value of N1,598.94/$1.

It was a similar performance for the naira against euro and British pound sterling in the official market.

Data shows naira gained N10.79 against the Pound Sterling yesterday in the official market to sell for N2,126.60/£1 versus Monday’s price of N2,137.29/£1.

While the euro naira gained N7.51 to close at N1,791.49/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,799.00/€1.

In the black market on Tuesday buying rate for the dollar dropped from N1,613 to N1,610 and selling rate at at N1,622 from previous rate of N1,635."

In a related development, Nigeria's foreign reserves have been on the rise, and it is now at highest level in three months

Latest data from the CBN showed that Nigeria's FX reserves in May alone have increased by over $400 million

The increase in the nation’s reserves is significant as it gives CBN the firepower to help the naira in the foreign exchange markets

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Source: Legit.ng