Naira further depreciates as dollar hits N1,510

The depreciation of the naira continued over the weekend as the currency traded at N1,510 to a dollar at the parallel market and 1,466.31 at the official market.

The dollar-to-naira exchange rate increased by N40 between Thursday and Friday, having earlier closed at N1,426 to a dollar, according to the National Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the official exchange market.

Following a string of reforms and interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the naira had, in recent times, firmed up against the dollar, exchanging below N1,000.

The apex bank had also supplied dollars to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in a bid to boost liquidity in the market.

Read Also: FULL LIST: CBN releases list of licensed Deposit Money Banks

The dollar exchanged at N1,450 Friday morning but closed the day with N1,510 at the black market.

It could be recalled that the CBN had sustained dollar sales to registered BDC operators under the aegis of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).

It had on April 23, 2024, sold dollars at a discounted rate of N1,021 per dollar, the second time in the month and fourth time in 2024 as part of measures to stabilise the naira.

In February 2024, the CBN announced the sale of $20,000 to each BDC at the rate of N1,301/$. Subsequently, it reduced the allocation by 50 per cent and sold FX at the rate of N1,251/$1.

Read Also: Naira depreciates at parallel market, official window

Other reforms by the CBN included substantially clearing foreign exchange backlog, including airlines’ trapped funds, and taking action to stop speculation with the raids on unregistered BDC operators.

Despite the interventions, the crisis has persisted as the naira was rated the world’s worst-performing currency over the last month, according to a Bloomberg report.