By Dipo Olowookere
Currency speculators seem to have finally taken full control of the foreign exchange (FX) market in Nigeria as the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar in the black market has further depreciated.
Over the weekend, currency traders sold the local currency at N654/$1 but at about 2:00 pm on Monday, July 25, 2022, it crashed to N660/$1 after losing N6 or 0.92 per cent.
A few forex traders who chatted with Business Post today at the popular Olugbede Model Market in Egbeda, Lagos explained that the fall today was because of hoarding, which is causing an artificial scarcity in the market.
“Those who have the Dollar do not want to sell because they foresee it getting closer to N750 very soon and they want to make more gains,” one of the sellers, Alhaji Adamu, claimed.
Nigeria has been having a serious battle with earning more forex despite the price of crude oil rising in the global market. The country, which has black gold in abundance, has failed to meet its production quota. This has put a strain on the revenue it generates from the sale of oil. Another issue is crude oil theft as most of the commodity produced is stolen and unaccounted for.
Also, efforts by the monetary authorities led by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, who recently had a botched presidential ambition under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to salvage the situation have failed.
Some business owners and individuals, who need forex to complete their transactions abroad usually go to the parallel market to buy the Dollar and other foreign currencies when they cannot get them via their authorised platforms like the banks.
This newspaper gathered that for those who have the Dollar but want to convert to Naira, the FX traders, as of the time of filing this report, buy from them at N655/$1 compared with N650/$1 it was exchanged last Friday on the streets.
Adedapo Adesanya