Naira Depreciates to N460/$1 at Black Market, BDC

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar depreciated by N5 at the black market on Monday to N460/$1 from N455/$1 it was exchanged last Friday.

Also, the local currency lost N5 against the British Pound Sterling at the same parallel market yesterday to sell for N590/£1 in contrast to N585/£1 it traded previously and depreciated by N10 on the Euro to close the day at N530/€1 versus N520/€1.

Business Post reports that despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) selling over $150 million to Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators since the resumption of forex sales last Monday, the Naira is still struggling to find its feet at the segment of the foreign exchange market.

Yesterday, according to data from the Association of the Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the domestic currency depreciated against the Dollar in Lagos by N4 to trade at N460/$1 compared with N454/$1 it traded previously.

Against the Pound, the domestic currency lost N13 at the opening day of the new week to close at N598/£1 in contrast to the previously traded rate of N585/£1 while against the Euro, it lost N5 to quote at N535/€1 as against N530/€1 it quoted last Friday.

At the nation’s capital, Abuja, the local currency registered a depreciate of N7 against the greenback on Monday to sell for N461/$1 as against N454/$1 of the previous session. On the Pound, the local currency depreciated by N25 to close at N605/£1 versus N580/£1 and declined by N20 on the Euro to trade at N535/€1 versus the previous rate of N515/€1.

In Port Harcourt, the domestic performed poorly against the US Dollar as it lost N4 to quote at N460/$1 compared with N456/$1 it traded last Friday but closed flat against the Pound at N603/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N14 to N534/€1 from N520/€1.

At the Kano BDC market, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar yesterday at N440/$1. The value also remained unchanged against the Pound and Euro at N585/£1 and N515/€1 respectively.

The domestic currency also maintained its stability against the American currency at the interbank segment of the forex market on Monday at N379/$1.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar at N386/$1 yesterday amid a 1540.6 per cent or $319.82 million spike in the demand for forex at the window to $340.58 million from the previous session’s $20.76 million.