Nigeria’s central bank resumed dollar sales to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators on Monday, selling $51.8 million to 5,180 BDCs across the country.
But this dollar allocation could not strengthen the value of naira, which as at 1.41pm on Monday has depreciated by an average rate of N4.33k as the dollar was trading at N444.33k compared to N440 traded on Friday on the black market.
Aminu Gwadabe, national president, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), told BusinessDay that 5,180 BDCs have been cleared to collect $10,000 each from the International Money Transfer Operators’ (IMTOs) proceeds nationwide.
He said payment has started in all the collection centres across the zones, which consist of Lagos 2,770 BDCs, Abuja 800 BDCs, Kano 900 BDCs, and Awka 450 BDCs.
Currency traders, however, told BusinessDay that the $10,000 allocation to each BDC by the CBN is not enough to meet the huge demand for the greenback by end users.
A breakdown of the exchange rate across three areas of Lagos where black market operators operate, as surveyed by BusinessDay, shows that dollar is going for N450 (selling) and N438 (buying) at Eko Hotel, N438 (selling) and N434 (buying) at Lagos international airport, and N445 (selling) and N440 (buying) at Festac Town, Lagos.
However, the traders said the exchange rate may moderate later.
