Naira Declines to N303 a Dollar as Scarcity Intensifies

The Naira declined N4 against the dollar on Monday in response to the intense scarcity of dollar in the market.

Survey conducted at the parallel market shows that the Naira depreciated to N303 a dollar in Lagos state from N299 previous week, while in Abuja and Kano the naira declined to N304 a dollar from N299 last week.

Bureau de Change operators across the country attributed the sharp depreciation to increasing scarcity of the greenback in the market due to CBN forex policy to stop selling Forex to BDCs.

“There is no dollar, that is why the rate is going up,” said Mr. Harisson Owoh, Chief Executive Officer, H.J Trust BDC.

Another BDC operator said “people are looking for dollars, but no body is willing to sell and also there is expectation that the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria will devalue the Naira but we know they will not.”

President, Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, also confirmed that there is scarcity of dollars in the market, no one is currently selling to BDCs.

He further stated that the proposed meeting between the Executive Council of the Association and the Central Bank of Nigeria did not hold last week as previously reported. He said the meeting has been rescheduled to this week.