Again, naira loses to dollar, exchanges at 445.83

The naira on Wednesday exchanged at 445.83 to the dollar at the Investors and Exporters window, a depreciation of 0.01 per cent, compared with the 445.80 it exchanged on Tuesday.

The open indicative rate closed at N444.25 to the dollar on Wednesday.

An exchange rate of N452 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N445.83.

The naira sold for as low as 426 to the dollar within the day’s trading.

A total of N127.78 million was traded at the official Investors and Exporters window on Wesnesday.

Meanwhile, Hassan Oaikhenan, a professor of Economics at the University of Benin, Benin-City, has attributed the depreciation of the naira to excess naira in circulation chasing the few dollars.

He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to limit the supply of the naira using the currency redesign as an opportunity to take firm hold of the supply of the naira.

“The way to go, therefore, is that now that the denominations are redesigned, then it is up to the CBN to as much as possible, limit, control, manage, tighten the quantity of the redesigned currency.

“Especially the higher denominations in circulation have to be properly managed so that at the end of the day, this phenomenon of too much naira chasing few dollars can be addressed.

“If that is sustainably done, then we will see an improvement of the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar,” he said.