Naira falls further at parallel market

Dollar nears N1,500 as scarcity hits black market

Nigeria’s currency on Friday slipped further against the dollar by 0.26 percent as demand increased at the parallel market.

During the intraday foreign exchange trading on Friday, the dollar traded at the rate of N765 compared to N763 on the previous day at the black market.

The naira depreciation followed strong demand for dollars by individuals for travel allowances and school fees.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, Naira depreciated by 1.02 percent as the dollar was quoted at N469.50 as against the last close of N464.67.

Most currency traders who participated at the foreign exchange auction on Thursday maintained bids between N460/$1, lower and N476.50/$1, higher bid.

Naira has since last week steadied at N464.67 per dollar at the Investors’ and Exporters’ forex window despite a decline in the market liquidity on Wednesday.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, signalled plans for a single exchange rate. He said monetary policy needs thorough house cleaning and that the Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate.

This, he said, would direct funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plant, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.

Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said “In the foreign exchange unification, we have not seen the kind of consistency that we expected. When the president announced the unification, there was a positive response at the market.”