Naira Resumes Decline Against the United States Dollar

Naira depreciated by N2 on Thursday on the black market after gaining N5 on Wednesday.

The local currency lost N2 from N455 it traded on Wednesday against the United States dollar to N457 on Thursday. Naira traded at a record low of N460 on Tuesday at the black market before moderating to N455 on Wednesday.

Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N2 against the British pound to trade at N557, down from the N555 it was exchanged on Wednesday at the parallel market.

However, Naira remained flat against the Euro single currency as it was exchanged at N498, the same rate it traded on Wednesday.

On the Investors and Exporters’ Forex Window, the local currency slid by 0.3 percent from N387.17 it traded on Wednesday to N387.27 on Thursday after opening at N386.36 per US dollar earlier in the day.

Activity level dropped as investors only traded $14.68 million, against the $99.90 million traded on Wednesday.

Economic uncertainties amid rising inflation rate, unemployment rate, weak capital importation and low foreign revenue generation continue to impact the Naira value despite efforts by the central bank of Nigeria to stabilise the battered currency.

Traders across the nation’s key forex markets remained apprehensive as scarcity persists without a known date when the apex bank would commence forex sales to the bureau de change operators.

Also, the fact that the central bank is in talks with other economic think tanks to explore how the nation can attain a single forex rate across key segments is hurting availability as speculators and hoarders up their game in expectation of a broad-based dollar scarcity.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s manufacturing sector contracted for a second month in June as businesses in the sector continue to struggle with limited forex access and importation of necessary raw materials due to the breakdown in global logistics.