Naira hits new low against dollar

Naira weakened further on Wednesday, falling 0.11 per cent against the U.S. dollar to its lowest level at the spot market.

This occurred as foreign exchange turnover surged 30.4 per cent from $63.05 million posted on Tuesday.

Before the close of trading on Wednesday, Naira opened at N431.88 per $1 but closed at N436.50, depreciating 0.11 per cent from N436.00 it traded in the session that preceded Wednesday, data recorded on FMDQ website, where forex is officially traded, showed.

With this, the naira has depreciated 0.4 per cent in the past three business days consecutively.

The currency traded within an intraday range of N437.50 (low) and snowballed to a high of N418.00 before closing at N436.50 per $1— the lowest official market rate the Naira has touched ever at the NAFEX window.

Within the past weeks and months, the Naira has hovered within the market range of N419.00 and N430.00 and above mark, amidst lingering inflationary pressures, surge in forex demands and depleting foreign reserves.

Also, the Naira volatility against the dollar in the unauthorised market was further exacerbated on Wednesday by the rising demand and scarcity of the greenback currency in circulation.

At the Uyo black market currency dealers exchanged the dollar at N700.00 and sold within the range of N703.00 and N705.00 to a dollar on Wednesday.

“The market scattered today, we had high demands but there is scarcity of dollars. Banks are not selling to us as we want. They are not paying customers the quantity dollars they are demanding, that’s why we have this scarcity,” a currency dealer at Uyo Udi market told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview.

Abuja black market currency dealers said they bought the dollar at N698.00 and sold N700.00 to a dollar on Wednesday.

Continue Reading