Nigeria’s currency on Wednesday continued its free fall with the dollar being sold at N477, representing a loss of N2 compared to N475 traded on Tuesday on the black market.

Traders said there was increased demand by end users amid dollar scarcity. The foreign exchange market has been under pressure since March 2020 following a sharp drop in oil prices as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment, naira also weakened by N1 as the dollar sold for N475 on Wednesday as against N474 sold for on Tuesday.

The BDC operators funded their accounts on Wednesday in anticipation of dollar disbursement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday.

It has been over three months since the CBN resumed dollar sales to BDCs in September 7, 2020 and had sold over $1 billion. However, this has not been able to stop naira depreciation as the local currency has continued to weaken in value against the dollar due to speculative activities.

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The Apex bank on March 26 suspended foreign exchange sales to BDCs, following the Covid-19 lockdown.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) I& forex window, Naira weakened by 0.31 percent as the dollar was quoted at N386.00 as against the last close of N384.80. Analysts at the FSDH research said most participants maintained bids between N380.00 and N393.30 per dollar.

Total foreign exchange inflow into the I&E window from January till November 17, 2020, stood at $15.8 billion as compared to $30.0 billion within the same period in 2019, according a report by the FSDH research.

The FX shortage has widened following the decline in crude prices, which has pressured FX earnings throughout the year. As a result, CBN has been forced to curtail FX supply in a bid to maintain the stock of FX reserves.

Nigeria’s external reserves have declined by 11.14 percent to $35.54 billion as at November 17, 2020 compared to $39.99 billion recorded in November 18, 2019, data obtained from the CBN website indicated.

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.

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