Naira Extends Losses at Forex Markets

Naira fell against the United States dollar at both the authorised and unauthorised markets on Monday, data published by FMDQ and parallel market traders showed.

According to the data, the domestic currency closed at N1,348 per $1 at the official window on Monday. The rate represents a N528.1 or 51.1 per cent depreciation from the N891.90 rate recorded in the previous session last Friday.

The naira experienced an intraday high of N701.0 and a low of N1,414.94 before it finally closed at N1,348 on Monday amidst soaring demand for the greenback.

Within the business period, $64.3 million was recorded as foreign exchange turnover at the official market.

Similarly, the naira extended depreciation at the unauthorised window on Monday.

According to market rates gathered from street market vendors in the country on Monday, the minimum rate for the dollar exchanged at the parallel market was N1,447 and above.

“There is a high demand for the dollar and banks are paying the dollar, but we can’t really say what’s driving the rate higher,” said Shuaibu, a Bureau De Change operator in Uyo.

Experts have attributed the continuous depreciation of the local currency against the dollar to a steady surge in demand for dollars by citizens to offset importation bills, school fees, and airline fares, among others.

Monday’s depreciation came after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced earlier that it has injected an additional $500 million into the foreign exchange market.

The move came about a week after it announced that it had so far disbursed approximately $2 billion across pivotal sectors like manufacturing, aviation, and petroleum.

On Monday, the CBN hinted that it has commenced implementing a comprehensive strategy to improve liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange markets in the short, medium, and long term.