Fresh Worry as Naira Climbs to N462 Per Dollar at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The poor performance of the Naira against the United States Dollar at the parallel market is beginning to give investors and others something to worry about.

At the segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Wednesday, the domestic currency further depreciated against its American counterpart to start the new month and another half of the Coronavirus-threatened year on a wrong foot.

During the midweek trading session, the Nigerian currency lost N2 from its previous value of N460/$1 to settle at N462/$1.

However, at the same black market, the domestic currency closed flat against the Pound at N560/£1 and against the Euro at N505/€1.

At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window, according to the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), its members in Lagos sold the Dollar for N457.50 in contrast to N458 it went for on Tuesday, indicating that the Naira gained 50 kobo on the Dollar.

Against the Pound, the local currency closed at N567/£1 in Lagos but lost 50 kobo against the Euro to sell at N502.50/€1 versus N502/€1 it traded at the last session.

In Abuja, the local currency gained N3 against the American currency to close at N455/$1 in contrast to Tuesday’s N458/$1. Against the Pound, it appreciated by N6 to sell at N555/£1 versus N561/£1 and lost N6 against the Euro to N510/€1 from N504/€1.

At the Port Harcourt market, the Naira dropped 50 kobo against the US Dollar to trade at N455.50/$1 versus N455/$1 of the preceding day. However, the domestic currency  retained its previous exchange rate against the Pound at N550/£1 and gained N5 against the Euro to close at N490/€1 as against N495/€1 of the last session.

In Kano, the local currency exchange rate also closed flat against the Dollar at N456/$1. It further remained unchanged against the Pound and Euro at N540/£1 and N490/€1 respectively.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, Business Post gathered from the FMDQ Securities Exchange that the exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar remained flat at N386.50/$1.

However, the total value of trades at the market segment on Wednesday depreciated by 27.8 percent or $4 million to $10.37 million from $14.37 million reported on Tuesday.

At the interbank window of the market, the official exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar remained at N361/$1 at the close of business yesterday.