Following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s decision to redesign the Nigerian Naira notes, the Naira to Dollar exchange rate plunged to N800 at the unregulated parallel market, popularly known as the black market during the weekend.

This, currency traders in that section of the foreign exchange market attributed to the sudden decline in the Naira due to the surge in demand for the U.S. Dollars by suspected hoarders looking to offload their Naira holdings ahead of the new naira notes scheduled for release on December 15, 2022.

However, at the interbank forex section managed by the CBN, the local currency remained fairly stable against its global counterparts. Trading at N438.5 against the United States Dollar; N507.5638 against the Pounds Sterling and N439.6401 to a Euro last week.

At the Investors and Exporters forex window, the Naira was exchanged at N444.75 to a United States Dollar on Friday as the daily turnover moderated to $61.89 million.

Crude Oil

In the early hours of Monday, oil prices dipped by $1 on reports that the Chinese factory data, the purchasing managers’ index contracted as concerns COVID-19 restrictions could slow down demand for the commodity.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark for oil, dropped $1.10, or 1.2%, to $94.67 a barrel at 8:15 am Nigerian time. While the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil stood at $86.83 a barrel, down $1.07, or 1.2%.

However, on a monthly basis, Brent and WTI are up by 7.7% and 9.3% respectively. Their first monthly gain since May.