Naira dips against US dollar at $1/385

Naira depreciated against the US dollar on Monday morning to stand at $1/N385 compared to $1/N367 recorded on Friday evening.

The currency against the Pounds Sterling continues to cost ₤1/N474 for sellers and ₤1/N478 for customers buying. The US dollar is bought at the parallel market at $1/N380 and sells for an average of $1/N385 while Euro is bought for €1/N400 and sold for €1/N403.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has halted the sale of dollars to the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) by oil companies, including International Oil Companies (IOCs) that operate within the shores of the country.

The apex bank explained that the move to stop the sale of dollars is in line with its commitment to improving foreign exchange supply to the economy as the impact of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic bites harder on the economy.

While acknowledging that the country’s foreign exchange earnings have been depleted, Governor Godwin Emefiele of the CBN, said the new dollar remittance policy would boost local dollar collections.

Breaking the news during an emergency meeting with bank chief executive officers in Lagos at the weekend, Emefiele spoke of the urgent need to improve dollar supply to the apex bank, which has vowed to meet all dollar obligations to correspondent banks from importers.

CBN’s commitment to naira stability is accompanied with new policies and bottlenecks meant to reduce dollar spending and meet critical obligations, including those to correspondent banks on Letters of Credit and other trade obligations.