In Nigeria, the total volume of transactions was reported to be $844 million on Monday, the country’s central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso said, as cited by to the Western media.
"This is the first time in many years it has achieved this level," Cardoso stated, as cited by the media.
Dollar liquidity in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has risen sharply due to "positive outcomes" from recent reforms, the governor reportedly said.
The naira has plunged 37% against the dollar since January 26 as the central bank brings it closer to its street value in a bid to unify Nigeria's official and unofficial foreign exchange markets and encourage investment.
"I want to emphasize that we are now at a turning point," the official added. "I'm confident that positive outcomes are already emerging and will become more apparent in the near future."
The limited availability of dollars in the local market has been a major factor contributing to the devaluation of the naira. To address this issue, the central bank has been urging Nigerians living abroad to bring back their money back through official channels, the media reported.
Furthermore, Cardoso expects price pressures to ease in 2024 as the central bank focuses directly on reducing inflation, with the aim of restoring conventional monetary policy practices.
Finance Minister Wale Edun also stated that Nigeria had been "on the road to economic disaster" but is now in a far better position, the report said.
"Let us be confident. Let us be calm. Let us be assured," Edun was quoted as saying. "The way forward is up."
Upon assuming office in May last year, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu introduced measures to ease currency exchange controls and remove gasoline subsidies to stimulate economic growth.
The measures were well received by international investors, but led to a significant increase in the inflation rate, which reached 28.9% in December, the highest level in almost thirty years.
"Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require," Tinubu said in his address on the 63rd Independence Day anniversary.