By Dipo Olowookere
On the first trading of the year on Tuesday, the Nigerian local currency, Naira, exchanged for 490 to a Dollar on the parallel market.
It was the same rate it closed on the last working day of 2016.
It was a similar situation at the official interbank window, where the currency closed at N305 a Dollar on the official window.
It had initially exchanged at N315.50 to the Dollar but gained after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold $1.5 million in the market.
The Naira lost around a third of its official value against the Dollar in 2016 and the stock market declined 6.17 per cent over the same period, reflecting a slump in Africa’s largest economy.
“In the week ahead, we expect pressure on the naira to linger, especially at the parallel market, as unmet demand from the official market continues to stoke imbalances,” United Capital said in a research note to clients yesterday.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Adedapo Adesanya