Naira falls to N345/$ in parallel market

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQFFOqFbyC5G4eDnQmbDWtr-7Z64s2hhqmb_jLMETgGZsCrXNu8P9W2fa91x2-84zVNfay1tbxCA7WvVnzxBjrkPKVnOdENPE21t7tluBkYPxOgfbtD-mLuPrYrI5ckLKhV5QpsWUqdPje/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQFFOqFbyC5G4eDnQmbDWtr-7Z64s2hhqmb_jLMETgGZsCrXNu8P9W2fa91x2-84zVNfay1tbxCA7WvVnzxBjrkPKVnOdENPE21t7tluBkYPxOgfbtD-mLuPrYrI5ckLKhV5QpsWUqdPje/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"/></a>According to Vanguard report, The naira, yesterday, suffered its biggest daily depreciation against the dollar as it exchanged for N345 to a dollar in the parallel market.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> This represents N20 depreciation when compared with the closing exchange rate of N325 per dollar in the market on Friday.<br/> <br/> But the naira was relatively stable at the official interbank foreign exchange market as the interbank rate stood at N197.47 per dollar at the close of business, yesterday.<br/> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ZwCddu_hA_k1qsdhkNTrmwGBIMuYlG0PmEDZ3wLuLPAzsqCW5d1a3cYy-4yq5RBF7jWJylWdovTrvMIn1iDlfggf2DqomE4GMN5fp-0seiXrJW9imMqzOInY-_MewiwR8Nxem-0n2Bao/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ZwCddu_hA_k1qsdhkNTrmwGBIMuYlG0PmEDZ3wLuLPAzsqCW5d1a3cYy-4yq5RBF7jWJylWdovTrvMIn1iDlfggf2DqomE4GMN5fp-0seiXrJW9imMqzOInY-_MewiwR8Nxem-0n2Bao/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"/></a><br/> The naira also depreciated by N45 against the British pound as the parallel market exchange rate rose to N485 per pound, yesterday, from N340 on Friday.<br/> <br/> Bureaux de Change sources, who confirmed the development to Vanguard, attributed the sharp depreciation to persistent scarcity of the dollar and pound sterling in the market.<br/> <br/> According to an Abuja-based BDC operator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the market is experiencing huge demand for dollars but there is no supply. Even those who have dollars are not willing to sell. The way things are going, the rate might reach N350 per dollar before it stabilises.”<br/> <br/> This development widened the gap between the interbank rate and the parallel market rate to N147.53 per dollar from N127.53 per dollar last week.<br/> <br/> The naira has been on steady decline since January 12, 2016, when the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, stopped weekly dollar sale to BDCs.<br/> <br/> Prior to this action, the naira traded at N265 per dollar in the parallel market. Consequently, the naira has depreciated by N80 in the parallel market since the CBN took the action.<br/> <br/> The steady depreciation was also aggravated by inability of the CBN to meet foreign exchange demand. Vanguard investigations reveal that the parallel market is being bedevilled by demand for foreign exchange from importers of the 41 items excluded from the official market by CBN last year as well as importers of items not excluded from the official market.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <b>Source;</b> <b>Vanguard</b></div>

Naira falls to N345/$ in parallel market

According to Vanguard report, The naira, yesterday, suffered its biggest daily depreciation against the dollar as it exchanged for N345 to...

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The Naira Will Weaken Further At The Parallel Market This Week...

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5drWjYt-MzkVQQEDsJJPMZ_bUpFx0UItyI2wLD-epjxPhVASgR1wtzkwVn1s9aIUMcRVt23ExhBtGq5syt07_LmF3AoUY9bS3U8NpXL7p5ZQKfEzuieLVCaliMqn-TFbpKC-7vgdUTRrb/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5drWjYt-MzkVQQEDsJJPMZ_bUpFx0UItyI2wLD-epjxPhVASgR1wtzkwVn1s9aIUMcRVt23ExhBtGq5syt07_LmF3AoUY9bS3U8NpXL7p5ZQKfEzuieLVCaliMqn-TFbpKC-7vgdUTRrb/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"/></a>The naira will weaken further at the parallel market this week after shedding nine per cent of its value last week, foreign exchange dealers and economic experts have said.<br/> <br/> Last week, the local currency fell from 310 to 338 as acute shortage of the greenback lingered.<br/> <br/> The CBN has left the official exchange rate unchanged at N197 to the dollar on its official interbank window.<br/> <br/> Forex dealers and experts expect the naira to fall further at the parallel market this week as demand for the greenback continues to soar.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> “The situation has got to the point of hysteria now; everybody wants to hold dollars. So the demand is rising and piling up,” the Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, said.<br/> <br/> The local currency hit a record low of 338 to the dollar on Thursday as desperate importers scrambled for dollars to meet their obligations overseas.<br/> <br/> The local currency had closed at 325, 318, 313.5 and 310 on Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday and Monday, respectively.<br/> <br/> “We see the naira falling further in coming days if the central bank fails to lift the dollar restriction,” the Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, said.<br/> <br/> Tumbling global oil prices have battered Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy, with external reserves down to an 11-year low at $27.89bn on February 9, Reuters reported.<br/> <br/> President Muhammadu Buhari is concerned that further depreciation will hurt poor Nigerians, but the CBN’s refusal to revise the pegged exchange rate has widened a chasm between official rate and the parallel market.<br/> <br/> In January, the central bank halted dollar sales to the BDC operators and allowed commercial banks to accept dollar deposits, in a failed effort to shore up dwindling foreign reserves.<br/> <br/> Around 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings come from crude oil exports, but mismanagement of the refineries means the country must also import expensive refined fuel.<br/> <br/> The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said it was high time the CBN came up with a forex policy to address the forex crisis confronting the nation.<br/> <br/> In an economic note released on Thursday, Rewane said, “Nigerians are perplexed at the endless slide of their currency, which is now trading at the lowest points ever.<br/> <br/> “This is happening even when the oil price is up at $31pb. The debate as whether to devalue the naira is not the real issue. The discourse should be whether we need an exchange rate policy or not. The absence of a policy is a recipe for economic anarchy and a race to the bottom.”<br/> <br/> According to Chukwu of Cowry Asset, the CBN needs to address the forex crisis before it gets too late.<br/> <br/> The Head, Investment Advisory, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Mr. Ayodeji Ebo, believes the CBN needs to review the list of the 41 items it banned from the official forex market, saying “some of the items need to return to the official forex market to reduce the pressure at the parallel market.”<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <b>PUNCH</b></div>

The Naira Will Weaken Further At The Parallel Market This Week...

The naira will weaken further at the parallel market this week after shedding nine per cent of its value last week, foreign exchange dealers...

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