By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira value of the Naira to the Dollar was weakened by 17.59 percent on Friday at the official window of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also known as the interbank segment of the foreign exchange market to to N361/$1 on Friday, March 20, 2020.
The depreciation of the local currency to N361/$1 on the official CBN window from N307/$1 confirmed fears earlier nursed that the Naira would be devalued.
On Friday, Business Post reported that there were suggestions, citing people familiar with the market, that the CBN may have devalued by 15 percent.
The devaluation storm also blew to the black market, where the Naira depreciated by N5 against the American currency to close at N380/$1 on Friday in contrast to N375/$1 it was traded on Thursday.
At the same segment, the local currency appreciated by N5 against the British pound sterling, quoting at N475/£1 compared to N480/£1 published the day before. And against the Euro, the local currency remained flat at N414/€1.
At the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Business Post gathered that the Naira gained N11 on the dollar at the Abuja market to close at N363/$1 compared with N374/$1 that it traded previously. The domestic currency, however, depreciated by N4 against the British Pound to close at N483/£1 compared with N479/€1 on Thursday and dropped N3 against the Euro to N413/€1 from N410/€1.
In Lagos, the local currency closed flat against the greenback at N376/$1, but appreciated by N5 against the pound, trading at N475/£1 compared with N485/£1 recorded on Thursday and against the Euro, it was strengthened by N8 to N406 from N414/£1.
At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the domestic currency closed flat against the American Dollar at N372/$1, just as it also remained unchanged against the Pound and the Euro at N486/£1 and N415/€1 respectively.
At the Kano BDC market, the Nigerian currency remained unchanged against the Dollar, Pound Sterling and Euro at N374/$1, N480/£1 and N417/€1 respectively.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the forex market on Friday, the Naira depreciated by 0.45 percent or N1.65 against the greenback to close at N372/$1 in contrast to N370.35/$1 it previously traded at the same window.
During the session, transactions recorded at the I$E segment was 0.9 percent or $4.70 million lower than the previous session. On Friday, transactions worth $501.03 million occurred at the market compared with $505.73 million of the previous session.
Modupe Gbadeyanka