Naira crashes further, now N436 to a dollar

By Odunewu Segun

The naira has further crash against major currencies in all the segments of the market at the interbank market, falling 2.99 points to close at N313.07 from N310. 08 recorded on Wednesday.

At the Bureau De Change segment of the market, the naira traded at N424, N549 and N468 to the dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro respectively. At the parallel market, Naira lost eight points to close at N436 against the dollar, from N428 posted on Wednesday.

The fall in the naira, which also traded at N555 and N472 against the Pound Sterling and the Euro, National Daily gathered was as a result of the persistent scarcity of the greenback.

Aminu Gwadabe, the president Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said he foresaw the naira on the path of recovery by Monday. “The naira will begin to recover by Monday when Travelex begins to sell forex to BDCs,’’ he said.

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He said with the coming on board of Travelex, a licensed forex dealer, efficiency, transparency and equitable distribution of forex would be restored in the market.

Since the implementation of the flexible exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the gap between the official interbank rate and the parallel market continued to soar.

The naira, which opened at N285 at the launch of the policy, has depreciated by 10 per cent while it continued to crash further at the parallel market.