Naira falls further, expected to trade at N500 next week

The nation’s currency, the naira on Thursday weakened further against the US dollar, closing at a record low of N495 at the parallel market.

It is expected to fall further following the persistent dollar shortage. The weekly dollar allocation to Bureau De Change operators by Travelex, a global currency has been reduced to $8,000 from $15,000 previously.

Naira lost N3.00k or 0.61 from N492 traded on Wednesday at the parallel market. The local currency remained stable at the inter-bank spot market, closing at N305.25, according to data from FMDQ.

The CBN scrapped a 16-month-old peg of 197 naira to the dollar in June, but it continues to trade in the official market, so that the naira remains far stronger against the dollar there than on the parallel market. The government has blamed that black market for damaging the already shaky economy.

Kemi Adeosun, finance minister had said earlier that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is working on the elimination of arbitrage in the foreign exchange market.