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.
Source:
The Punch
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