By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciation continued at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Thursday, October 31, 2019, Business Post is reporting.
The value of the local currency declined for the second consecutive trading session yesterday, losing 8 Kobo or 0.02 percent against the US Dollar to trade at N362.66/$1 against N362.58/$1 it traded on Wednesday.
At the market segment, investors pulled out a large amount to the tune of $686.72 million, 201.3 percent or $458.78 million higher than the $227.94 million transactions recorded at the previous session.
It was observed that this high demand for forex by investors at the window, coupled with the shortage of supply to meet the demand, contributed to the further devaluation of the Naira on Thursday.
However, at the Interbank segment of the market, the Naira/USD exchange rate saw neither growth nor decline as it remained flat on Thursday to trade at N307/$1.
The performance of the Naira at the parallel market against major listed foreign currencies further saw no changes as it closed flat against the American Dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro.
The Naira/USD exchange rate at the black market remained flat at N360/$1, while the exchange rate of the domestic currency against the Euro remained unchanged at N400/€1.
It was looking like a different ball game for the Naira as it opened on Thursday morning losing N1 against the British Pound Sterling at N464, but it fought back to close at N463 on Thursday evening, the same rate it traded the previous day.
Political issues in the United Kingdom are telling heavily on the currency performance as the Pound ended the month of October strong, outperforming all its major rivals by a comfortable difference.
Analysts are of the opinion that if the Conservative Party emerge victorious on the December 12 election, it will deliver the Brexit deal and might bring more support for the Pound, which could spell doom for the Naira, which is still struggling for life.
Modupe Gbadeyanka