Naira Further Depreciates at Different FX Segments

By Adedapo Adesanya 

The foreign exchange market on Wednesday, March 11 witnessed further depreciation of the Naira against the US Dollar and other major currencies amid heightened fears of devaluation and global economic crisis.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, the local currency lost 0.43 percent or N1.58 against the greenback to trade at N368.33/$1 compared with the previously traded rate of N366.75/$1.

Business Post gathered that the decline occurred despite the ease in the demand for forex at the market window yesterday. The value of transactions at the investors’ segment reduced by 79 percent or $392.09 million to $106.04 million from $498.13 million exchanged at the previous session.

At Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment in Lagos, the Naira also depreciated against the Dollar by N6.50 to close at N365/$1 in contrast to N358.50/$1 traded at the previous session. The domestic currency also depreciated by N12 against the British pound to N485/£1 from N473/£1 and lost N9 against the Euro to trade at N412 compared with N403/€1.

In the capital city of Abuja, the local currency lost N9 against the greenback to trade at N368/$1 after it closed at N359/$1 at the previous session. The Nigerian currency fell by N11 against the pound to N482/£1 from N471/£1 and declined by a whopping N45 against the Euro to N414.50/£1 from N369/€1.

At the Kano BDC market, according to data obtained by Business Post from Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the Naira depreciated by N5.50 to N365/$1 from N359.50/$1 on Tuesday. It lost N15 against the Euro to sell at N414/€1 compared with the previous value of N399/€1 and then closed flat against the British currency at N470/£1.

In Port Harcourt, the Naira was down by N7 to N365/$1 from N358/$1 and then lost N16 against the Euro to N413/€1 from N397/€1. It depreciated by N5 against the Pound to close at N480/£1 from N475/£1.

At the black market, the Naira fell by N12 against the United States currency to N375/$1 from N363/$1 and then declined by N10 on the Pound to quote at N485/£1 against the previous rate of N475/£1 before going down by N10 against the Euro to N413/€1 from N403/€1.

However, the domestic currency maintained its stability against the Dollar at the interbank window as the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate remained at N306.95/$1.