The naira appreciated against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Thursday amid a rise in FX transactions.

FMDQ data showed that the currency strengthened slightly to N1659.26 per dollar on Thursday compared to N1669.19 exchanged on Wednesday.

This represents N9.93 appreciation against the dollar.

Similarly, the naira gained at the parallel market to close at N1680 per dollar on Thursday from N1690 traded on Wednesday.

At the parallel market, the naira strengthened by N10 on Thursday compared to the N1690 exchange rate recorded the previous day.

This comes as the total daily foreign exchange transaction turnover increased significantly to $450.39 million on Thursday from $176.45 million on Wednesday.

Correspondent reports that in the past two days, the naira had recorded losses against the dollar at the official FX market.