Naira Dips To 517 Against Dollar

Share the News
Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

The naira has continued its recent crash, dipping further against the dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday to exchange at 517/$ after maintaining a 515/$ valuation in recent days.

The local currency fell to 517 against the US currency at the parallel market on Wednesday.

At the Investors and Exporters’ window, the naira weakened by 0.06 per cent to close at 411.75/$ on Wednesday, according to FMDQ Group.

The naira had strengthened to 506/$ on August 4 after plunging to 525/$ at the parallel market on July 28, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria stopped foreign exchange sales to Bureaux de Change. It had been hovering around 508/$ and 510/$ in recent days.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had on July 27, at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, announced the stoppage of forex sale to the BDCs, saying they had turned themselves into ‘agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria’.

Read Also: FIRS To Spend N2.8bn On Uniforms, N550m On Meals

He said the CBN would channel a significant portion of its weekly allocation currently meant for BDCs to commercial banks to meet legitimate forex demand for ordinary Nigerians and businesses.

The PUNCH had reported on Monday that the total forex transactions on FMDQ Securities Exchange rose by about 2.24 per cent last week.

Money
Nigerian naira banknotes are seen in this picture illustration, September 10, 2018. Picture taken September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/Illustration/File Photo

The Exchange said in the forex spot and derivatives markets, the total turnover for the week ended August 13, 2021 was $692.60m, up from $677.44m reported for the previous week.

It said the week-on-week increase in turnover was driven by the 12.31 per cent increase in the forex spot, despite the 24.06 per cent decrease in forex derivatives turnover.

The total value of transactions in the Investors’ & Exporters’ window was $550.14m, representing an increase of 12.31 per cent from $489.85m in the previous week.

According to the Exchange, the average Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing rate was N411.17/$, compared to N411.16/$ recorded in the previous week, representing a depreciation of the naira against the dollar by 0.003 per cent.

The naira, however, appreciated against the dollar by 0.04 per cent at the parallel market as it averaged 510.60/$, compared to 510.80/$ in the previous week.

Source: Punch

This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *