Naira Depreciates to N420.25/$1 on Wednesday After Devaluation

The Nigerian Naira depreciated further against the United States Dollar on Wednesday following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to devalue the local currency.

The local currency exchange rate plunged to N420.25 per U.S Dollar on Wednesday before moderating to N411.38/$1 on the NAFEX window, the new Nigeria’s official exchange rate.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had adopted the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) rate as the official rate on Monday in a move suspected to further converge the nation’s foreign exchange rates as demanded by both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank before further loan approvals. It means the CBN has devalued the Naira from N379/$1 to N411.38/$1 (Nafex today’s rate).

Therefore, the NAFEX, largely determined by investors, importers and the CBN, will be Nigeria’s official foreign exchange rate. Investors traded $130.50 million at the window on Wednesday.

At the parallel market, popularly known as the black market, the Naira traded at N487 to a United States Dollar.

Against the British Pound and the Euro,  it sold at N687 and N590, respectively.