By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated by N1 against the American Dollar at the black market segment of the foreign exchange market on Friday, August 7 on the back of a sustained FX liquidity crisis.
As a result of the pressure on the local currency, it closed at N475 to a single unit of the dollar yesterday compared with N474/$1 it traded on Thursday.
At the same segment, the local currency fell by N5 against the Euro at N550/€1 versus 545/€1 it previously traded and closed flat against the Pound at N600/€1.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) market, data from FMDQ showed that the Naira depreciated by 0.13 per cent or 50 kobo to close at N386/$1 in contrast to N385.50/$1 it was sold previously.
This was despite a decrease in the day’s turnover volume, which went down by 6.9 per cent or $7.44 million to $99.22 million from $106.66 million exchanged at the previous session.
However, at the interbank segment of the market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) still sold the Dollar to commercial banks for N381.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window, operators in Lagos traded the Naira against the Dollar at the previous rate of N473/$1. At the same location, the domestic currency appreciated by 50 kobo to trade at N601/£1 compared to N601.50/£1 it previously traded and against the Euro, it closed flat N545/€1.
In Port Harcourt, the local currency gained 50 kobo against the US Dollar to N472/$1 from N472.50/$1 and lost N2.50 against the Euro to N545/€1 from N542.50/€1, and closed flat on the Pound at N600/£1.
Business Post reports that the Naira gained N1 on the US Dollar at the Abuja BDC market to finish at N473/$1 as against N474/$1 on Thursday. However, it lost N1 on the Pound to N605/£1 from the previous day’s N604/£1 and remained unchanged against the Euro at N550/€1.
In Kano, the local currency remained unchanged against the Dollar, Pound and Euro at N472/$1, N575/£1 and N540/€1 respectively.
Dipo Olowookere