Naira Exchanges at N427 Against the United States Dollar on I&E FX Window

The Nigerian Naira plunged to as low as N427.45 against the United States Dollar on the Investors and Exporters Foreign Exchange Window on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

The local currency pulled back to N406.50 a US Dollar but opened lower at N412.50 on Friday morning.

Investors traded $66.99 million during the trading hours of Thursday.

At the black market section of the foreign exchange, Naira traded at N480 against the United States Dollar while the British Pound was exchanged at N673.

The Euro common currency remained unchanged at N580, the same rate it exchanged on Monday.

Despite the surge in the oil price to N67 per barrel and a series of forex policies, the Central Bank of Nigeria continues to struggle with low dollar liquidity across the board.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves declined by about $1 billion in one month as Africa’s largest economy struggles with the weak fiscal buffer necessary to mitigate COVID-19 impacts and deepen productivity.

It would be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria adjusted its diaspora foreign remittance policy to curb rising foreign exchange rates and put an end to black market transactions hurting the nation’s local currency value.

However, since the new policy was enacted in November 2020, forex scarcity remained pervasive with diaspora remittance inflow expected to decline by $2 billion in 2020.