Worry as Dollar Sells at N460 at at Parallel Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira to the United States Dollar depreciated at both the parallel and Bureau De Change (BDC) segments of the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, April 28.

At the parallel market, scarcity woes loomed as the local currency lost N10 to trade at N460/$1 in contrast to N450/$1 it traded the previous day.

At the same segment, the domestic currency also shed N10 against the Pound to settle at N520/£1 compared with N510/$1 of the previous session. However, the domestic currency remained unchanged against the Euro at N450/€1.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market yesterday, the Naira depreciated by more than 9 percent across four key cities of the country.

According to figures obtained by Business Post from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the Naira weakened against the Dollar in Lagos N5 to N457/$1 from N452/$1.

However, against the British Pound, the Naira appreciated by N2 to close at N508/£1 as against N510/£1 recorded on Monday and against the Euro, the Naira remained at N460/€1.

In Abuja, the local currency shed as much as N62 against the Dollar to close at N457/$1 compared with N415/$1 it traded previously. It dropped N8 against the Pound to close at N498/£1 in contrast to N490/£1 and was unchanged against the Euro at N440/€1.

At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the Naira also fell N62 on the Dollar to N457/$1 and shed N21 against the Pound and N30 on the Euro to sell at N508/£1 and N460/€1 from N487/£1 and N430/€1 of the previous session respectively.

In Kano, the local currency lost N44 against the Dollar to trade at N459/$1 compared with N415/$1 of the preceding session. On the Pound Sterling, the local currency shed N8 to N498/£1 from N490/£1, but recorded no movement on the Euro at N440/€1.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, the Naira remained unchanged against the greenback at N386.25/$1.

This followed the decline in the demand for forex at the market segment on Tuesday. The value of transactions declined by 78 percent to $11.34 million from $51.81 million recorded on Monday.

At the interbank segment, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar remained flat at N361/$1.