BDC Operators Sell Dollar at N446.50 in Lagos

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market in Lagos on Wednesday, May 13.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the local currency lost N2.50 at the commercial capital of the country yesterday as a result of the shortage in the supply of forex to the market.

At the close of transactions, the domestic currency was traded at N446.50/$1 in contrast to N444/$1 it was sold on Tuesday.

Also, at the Lagos BDC market, the Nigerian currency depreciated by N5 against the Pound to sell at N540/£1 in contrast to N535/£1 of the previous day and shed as much as N12 on the Euro to trade at N472/€1 versus N465/€1.

However, at the Abuja BDC market, the Nigerian currency appreciated by N17 against the greenback to N440/$1 from N457/$1. It, however, fell by N40 against the British currency to sell at N538/£1 in contrast to Tuesday’s rate of N498/£1, and lost N18 on the Euro to quote at N468/€1 compared with previous rate of N440/€1.

In Port Harcourt, the Naira traded flat against the greenback, Pound Sterling and the Euro at N430/$1, N515/£1 and N450/€1 respectively.

It was a similar situation at the Kano BDC market as the domestic currency traded flat against the Dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro at N440/$1, N538/£1 and N468/€1 respectively.

Likewise, at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market, according to data harvested by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Naira, for the third consecutive session this week, closed flat against the Dollar at N386.94/$1

This occurred as the demand for forex continue to decline due to the effects of COVID-19 shocks on global trades. During the session, transactions worth $17 million were executed at the window compared with $21.10 million of the previous day, indicating a 19 percent or $4.1 million decline in forex sales.

Following the same trend, the Naira, at the black market, traded flat against the US Dollar on Wednesday at N450/$1.

At the same segment, the local currency retained its previous exchange rate against the British Pound yesterday at N535/£1 and against the Euro at N455/€1.

At the interbank segment of the forex market, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate closed flat at N361/$1.