Naira to Gain Against Global Counterparts this Week

The Nigerian Naira is expected to gain further against global counterparts on the black market this week as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) planned to resume forex sales today 7 September 2020.

The Naira plunged to N480 against the US dollar on the black market during the nation’s lockdown and as low as N615 and N550 against the British Pound and the Euro, respectively.

The Naira gained N40 last week to trade at N440 against the United States Dollar and improved to N570 and N506 against the British and Euro, respectively.

This, the central bank attributed to the activities of speculators who were hoarding dollar to create scarcity across key forex segments.

Also, the suspension of forex sales to the bureau de change operators created dollar illiquidity that eventually hurt the local currency value, especially after devaluing the currency twice during the COVID-19 lockdown.

However, with the resumption of forex sales to the bureau de change operators by the apex bank today, the Naira is expected to gain against global counterparts in the near-term.

Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, commended CBN and stated that sales to the BDCs will ensure forex stability.

“The anticipated intervention in the BDC sector will ensure stability in the foreign exchange market,” he said.