Naira Depreciates To ₦410 Per Dollar

Following the uncertainty in the foreign exchange market, the Naira depreciated at the parallel market on Friday evening.

Nigeria’s currency depreciated to N410 per one dollar at the parallel market, popularly known as the black market on Friday evening according to Aboki Fx. This development followed the suspension of sales of foreign exchange by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Bureau De Change operators (BDCs).

With the current rate of N410, the naira has depreciated by N20 from N390 per dollar traded on Wednesday.

Recall that earlier this afternoon, Nairametrics had reported that the dollar sold for N395 in the parallel market. The dramatic change in price attests to the volatility in the market.

The raging coronavirus and the crash in oil prices are having a huge effect on the global economy including that of Nigeria. The big drop in foreign exchange earnings with the resultant pressure in the country’s foreign reserve and the foreign exchange market is having a negative effect on the value of the naira.

The CBN had yesterday suspended indefinitely the sales of foreign exchange to the Bureau De Change operators. The CBN’s action was in response to a letter dated March 24, 2020, by the BDCs recommending the CBN to declare market holiday on its weekly bidding pending the re-opening of the nation’s borders and the control of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

The suspension according to the Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON) was as a result of the shutdown or land, air and sea border by a lot of countries globally and as such has reduced the number of travellers and the demand for foreign exchange by travellers

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window on Thursday, the local currency deprecated by 1.39 percent to close at N385.53kobo per dollar, data from FMDQ show. The naira weakened to 361 to the dollar on the official market, supported by the central bank.