Naira Falls To 267.5 As Dollar Demand Rises

The demand for the United States’ dollar at the parallel market was up on Tuesday, driving down the naira to 267.5 against the greenback.

The naira had on Monday closed at 265 against the dollar in the unofficial market, compared to 263 on Sunday.

The Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, confirmed to our correspondent that the black market rate had gone to 267.5 against the dollar, said, “Increased activity is taking place after the holiday of last week. So, there is an increased demand.

“Again, there is still a lot of dollar cash in people’s hands – people are still trying to move money outside the country. It is disturbing. There should be increased surveillance at the airports to check this.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention on Wednesday (today) would be expected to lift the currency at the unofficial market, Gwadabe had said on Monday. The CBN would sell $10,000 each to the BDC operators.

The nation’s currency had closed at 262 against the greenback before the New Year holiday started last Wednesday. After the Christmas holiday, the local currency rose from 265 to 260.

Currency analysts have predicted that the naira will remain weak against the dollar at the parallel market until the first week of January following the suspension of foreign exchange sale by the CBN.

The interbank forex market, which was closed before the Christmas holiday, opened on Monday.

Gwadabe said the weekly forex sale was expected to impact positively on the parallel market rates.

Forex scarcity, which has caused significant decline in the nation’s external reserves, is forcing the CBN to ration dollar supply to the banks, importers, the BDCs and the general public.

The foreign reserves declined by 15.61 per cent year-on-year to $29.13bn by December 29, from $34.52bn a year ago, data from the central bank showed.

The CBN recently cut its weekly forex sale to the BDCs from $30,000 to $10,000 each.

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