Pressure Mounts on Naira, Sells at N452/$1

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further dropped to N452/$1 at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market in Lagos as on Wednesday, June 17.

The depreciation in the value of the local currency against its American counterpart was caused by the return of pressure on the former.

According to data sourced by Business Post from the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) yesterday, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar at the Lagos BDC market on Tuesday was N450/$1, indicating a N2 change.

At the same location of the market segment, the Nigerian currency also lost N4 on the pound to sell at N552/£1 instead of the previous day’s N548/£1. Against the Euro, the Naira depreciated by N2 to sell at N492/€1 as against N490/€1 it was exchanged on Tuesday.

In the capital city of Abuja, the local currency depreciated against the Dollar by N3 as BDC operators exchanged the Dollar at N451.50/$1 compared with N448.50/$1 it was sold at the last session.

However, it appreciated by N10 against the Pound to N548/£1 in contrast to N558/£1 of the previous day and closed flat at N482/€1.

At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the Naira depreciated by N2 to close at N450/$1 versus N448/$1 it traded previously. The domestic currency also fell N2 against the pound to close at N548/£1 versus the previous rate of N546/£1, but closed flat against the Euro at N490/€1.

In Kano, the local currency closed flat against the Dollar at N447/$1. The Nigerian currency also remained unchanged against the Pound and Euro at N540/£1 and N490/€1 respectively.

At the black market, the domestic currency depreciated against the greenback on Wednesday by N1 to N453/$1 from N452/$1.

At the same segment, the local currency gained N3 against the British pound yesterday to trade at N550/£1 in contrast to N553/£1 it previously traded and against the Euro, the domestic currency closed flat at N490/€1.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market, Business Post gathered from the FMDQ Securities Exchange that the Naira retained its previous day rate of N386/$1 on Wednesday.

This was despite the rise in the demand for forex at the market segment as transactions worth $16.06 million were executed during the midweek session compared with the previous day’s $15.31 million, representing a 4.9 percent or $750,000 jump.

A look at the interbank segment of the forex market showed that the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar remained stable yesterday at N361/$1.