Naira loses 6.12% on black market in one month

The naira has depreciated against the dollar, losing 6.12 percent of its value in one month on the parallel market, also known as black market.

The foreign exchange (FX) market closed for the month of May 2024, with the dollar selling for N1,470, weaker than N1,380 quoted at the beginning of the month.

On a day-on-day basis, the local currency appreciated by 0.68 percent as the dollar was quoted at N1,470 on Friday from N1,480 quoted on Thursday on the black market.

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A currency trader said the dollar appreciation was due to reduced speculation and more supply of the greenback by individuals who have dollars to sell.

Out of options to defend their currencies, African policymakers from Harare in the south to Juba in the east and Lagos in the west are cracking down on street dealers, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, Monetary authorities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and South Sudan are throwing everything at the money changers, who they accuse of undermining their currencies by speculating. They’ve banned and arrested them, imposed hefty fines and revised existing operational guidelines for bureaux de changes.

All four countries have thriving parallel markets whose exchange rates are far more utilized than the official rates set by the central banks.

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.