Naira Suffers Against Dollar, Loses 26.1% Value In Four Weeks

Naira has suffered against dollar, losing 26.1% value in four weeks.

Newsone reports that dollar to naira exchange rate on Tuesday 31st August 2021, opened at N526.00 per $1 at the parallel market as against N527 per dollar on Monday, representing a 26.1 per cent loss barely a month after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped dollar allocation to 5,300 licensed Bureaux De Change (BDCs) operators.

This online news platform understands that the naira had lost N17 to close at N522/$1 at the parallel market, a day after the CBN stopped dollar allocation to the BDCs. Nigerian Tribune recalls that exactly a month ago all the bank Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) held a press conference praising CBN for stopping sale of dollars to BDCs.

They said naira would rise to N423/$1, but pressure on the local currency today has proved them wrong as local banks are still unable to meet dollar demands. Data published on abokiFX. com, which is known as the “official black market rate“, showed that at the black market, the players bought a dollar for N522 and sold for N526 on Tuesday morning, August 31, 2021.

On the other hand, the exchange rate between the Naira and the US dollar according to data posted on the FMDQ Security Exchange where forex is officially traded showed that the naira opened at N412.04 per dollar on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, after it closed at N411.63 per $1 on Monday, August 30, 2021.

This represents a change of 0.03 per cent. The local currency, which has been on a downward trend in recent weeks, fell to N524 against the greenback on Friday from 522/$1 on Thursday.

At the Investors and Exporters’ window, the naira, however, strengthened to 411.63/$1 on Monday from 412/$1 on Friday, according to FMDQ Group.

Meanwhile, Newsonne Nigeria reports that Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor, had on July 27, at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, announced the stoppage of forex sale to the BDCs, saying they had turned themselves into ‘agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria.’