Dollar hits N420 at black market as oil price falls to $20

The pressure on the foreign exchange intensified on Tuesday as the dollar was trading at N420 at the black market after oil price crashed to $20 per barrel.

The price of Brent crude has fallen to as low as $20 per barrel as on Tuesday, following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic globally.

With the current exchange rate, it implies that the Nigerian currency is losing N2.50k per dollar compared to N417.50K traded the previous day.

The dollar can only be purchased from a very few operators in Lagos as many others are not trading due to the COVID-19 lockdown announced by the Federal Government.

“Actually for one month now I have been at home. I have not gone to market and there has not been any transaction since then,” one of the dealers said.

The foreign exchange market opened with an indicative rate of N385.71k/$ on Tuesday, gaining marginally by 0.02 per cent from N385.79k opened on Monday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, data from FMDQ showed.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.