Economy
Naira Falls to N750/$1 at Parallel Market on FX Liquidity Squeeze
By Dipo Olowookere
The persistent squeeze in foreign exchange (FX) liquidity in Nigeria has further battered the value of the Naira against the United States Dollar in the black market.
The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar crashed to N750/$1 on Friday noon, according to data obtained by Business Post from forex traders on the streets of Lagos.
“We have not been able to get Dollars from the various sources, which is putting pressure on the Naira. The few with us are being rationed,” a forex trader in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Mr Abdulahi Musa, told this reporter.
This reporter, who visited some commercial banks in the area to have a feel of the availability of FX, observed that most customers are unable to get Dollars in cash.
The bank officials at the FX desks of the financial institutions visited tell their customers that they are still expecting forex allocations from the head office.
One of them, who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity, said, “We do not have Dollars at the moment; what we have are the lower denominations like $1 and $10.
“You know that the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) has stopped allocating FX to banks. We are now to source FX, and this is affecting us.”
An aggrieved customer in one of the banks claimed the lenders hoard the forex to resell to FX hawkers.
“I want to believe that the banks have Dollars, but they intentionally refused to give their customers. What they do is to cajole you into accepting to transfer the Dollars to an Aboki (Bureaux De Change operator) stationed in the bank and tell you to fill a form that the cash was collected by you,” the aggrieved customer, who simply identified himself as Lekan, told Business Post.
At the unofficial FX market on Thursday, the Naira was sold at N735/$1, indicating that under 24 hours, the value of the Nigerian currency has devalued by 2.04 per cent or N15.
It was observed that the crashing of the domestic currency had been caused by the inability of customers to access FX from their banks. This puts pressure on the parallel market, allowing hoarding and speculative activities as electioneering begins.
Politicians have been blamed for mopping forex from the system to prosecute elections, as one of the bankers informed this reporter.
“Most politicians convert their Naira to Dollar because it is easy to have millions of Naira in a few Dollars. But we hope that the FX environment will be better after the elections,” the banker noted.
Recall that a few months ago, the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, warned that anyone caught converting Naira to Dollar or other foreign currencies would be severally dealt with.
“For those taking money from banks to buy dollars, it is illegal to do so. If the security agencies hold you, you will know the implication.
“We are monitoring customers and banks, and any bank involved would be sanctioned. We will place Post no Debit on the defaulting customer’s account.
“It is a very injurious tool to stop you from conducting illegal flows, either domestic or foreign currency. We will conduct investigations, and we will have proof, and you will not be able to conduct transactions in any Nigerian bank,” Mr Emefiele said.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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