Naira Sheds N5 Against U.S Dollar to N515 as Dollar Scarcity Persists

The Nigerian Naira depreciated by N5 at the parallel market, popularly known as the black market, on Wednesday as dollar scarcity persists across key forex segments.

Naira lost N5 from N510 it exchanged against the United States Dollar on Tuesday to N515 on Wednesday. The local currency traded at N703 to a British Pound while against the Euro common currency, it sold at N596.

At the bureau de change segment, the Naira dipped by N7 from N506 it traded against the United States Dollar on Monday to N513.  Against the British Pound and the Euro, it remained flat at N705 and N600, respectively.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had halted forex allocation to the Bureau de change forex section to reduce the activities of speculators and hoarders at the unregulated forex section, the black market. The decision weighed on Naira’s outlook against its global counterparts despite efforts to ensure banks reduce the projected deficit.

On the NAFEX window, the CBN adopted official rate, the Naira opened at N411.83 to a United States Dollar on Thursday morning, dipped by 0.08 percent from the N411.40 it closed on Wednesday. Investors traded $132.42 on Wednesday, according to the FMDQGroup.