By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated by N3 against the United States Dollar at the parallel market on Tuesday, selling at N363/$1 after trading at N360/$1 on Monday.
In recent times, there have been rumours that the local currency would eventually be devalued due to the global economic crisis caused by the outbreak of coronavirus also known as COVID-19. This had led to some people mopping up forex in preparation of the unknown.
At the black market, the Nigerian currency also lost N3 against the British Pound Sterling on Tuesday, trading at N475/£1 compared with N472/£1 it recorded on Monday.
Against the Euro, the local currency also depreciated, this time by N5, to sell at N403/€1 in contrast to N398/€1 it was transacted at the previous session.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market yesterday, data from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) showed that the Naira lost 40 kobo in Lagos against the greenback to close at N358.40/$1 compared with N358.10/$1 it traded previously. The domestic currency also depreciated by N2 against the British currency to N473/£1 from N471/€1, but gained N2 against the Euro to close at N403/€1 versus N405/€1 it was on Monday.
At the Abuja BDC market, the local currency depreciated by N1 against the greenback to trade at N359/$1 after closing at N358/$1 previously. It significantly gained N19 against the Pound to sell at N471/£1 compared with N490/£1 recorded on Monday and against the Euro, the domestic currency appreciated by N26 to close at N369/£1 in contrast to N395/£1 it previously traded.
After weeks of stability at the Kano market, the Naira declined by N1.50 against the Dollar to close at N359.50/$1 in contrast to the previous N358/$1. However, it improved by N2 against the Pound to close at N470/£1 versus N472/£1 on Monday, and depreciated by N4 on the Euro to close at N399/€1 compared with N395/€1 it was sold at the last trading day.
At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the Naira sustained its stability against the Dollar, Pound and the Euro at N358/$1, N475/£1 and N397/€1 respectively.
The official exchange rate of the Naira against the Dollar at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also referred to as the interbank segment depreciated by 5 kobo or 0.02 percent on Tuesday, trading at N307/$1 compared with N306.95/$1 it was sold on Monday.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the forex market yesterday, the local currency lost 4 kobo against the American currency to sell at N366.75/$1 in contrast to N366.71/$1 it was exchanged at the previous session.
Data harvested by Business Post showed that the Naira came under pressure as a result increase in the demand for forex by customers, leading to the 150 percent or $298.52 million rise in the turnover yesterday.
Transactions worth $498.13 million were achieved on Tuesday compared with $199.61 million recorded at the previous session.
Modupe Gbadeyanka