Naira Depreciates to N474 Per Dollar at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated by N1 against the Dollar at the black market segment of the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

Yesterday, the local currency fell to N474/$1 at the parallel market. On Monday, it was exchanged at N473/$1.

The local currency at the same segment lost N2 against the Pound to close at N592/£1 compared to N590/£1 while against the Euro, the Naira also shed N2 to close N544/€1 from N542/€1 it previously traded.

Also, at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) market on Tuesday, the local currency depreciated by N1 or 0.26 per cent against the greenback to trade at N389/$1 in contrast to the previous day’s N388/$1.

During the session, the demand for the American dollar rose by 43.1 per cent or $7.43 million to $24.66 million from Monday’s $17.23 million.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) market segment, data from the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) showed that in Lagos, the Naira dropped 50 kobo against Dollar to sell for N473/$1 in contrast to the previous day’s N472.50/$1.

However, against the Pound, the local currency gained N6 to close at N589/£1 versus N595/£1 it sold previously and gained N1 on the Euro to close at N542/€1 versus N543/€1 of the last session.

In Abuja, the local currency lost N4 against the American currency to close at N475/$1 compared with N471/$1 on Monday and against the Pound, it depreciated by N2 to sell at N578/£1 versus N576/£1, while against the Euro, it closed flat at N530/€1.

At the Port Harcourt market, the domestic currency gained N2 against the greenback to close at N470/$1 compared to N472/$1 and against the Pound, the Naira lost N6 to close at N587/£1 as against the previous session’s N581/£1 while against the Euro, the domestic currency fell by N1 to N537/€1 from N536/€1.

In Kano, the local currency exchange rate against the three major foreign currencies at the market; Dollar, Pound and Euro, closed flat at N473.50/$1, N575/£1, and N540/€1 respectively.

At the interbank window of the market, the official exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar remained unchanged at N381/$1.