By Odunewu Segun

The Naira at the parallel market depreciated further to N495/$ on Thursday as predicted by finance experts.

They had predicted that Naira by early 2017 might hit N500/Dollar.

The Naira on Thursday fell further by one three points to close at N495 per dollar against N492 it was traded on Wednesday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro Closed at N597 and N515 respectively.

The Naira at the beginning of the week appreciated at the parallel market after about two weeks of losses, gaining 3 points to exchange at N490, from N493 it posted last Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N600 and N506, respectively.

At the official interbank window, the Naira closed at N305 to a dollar.

Trading at Bureau De Change (BDC) window saw the Naira close at N399 to a dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N600 and N510, respectively. Traders blamed acute forex scarcity for the spike in the exchange rate

The Naira had exchanged around N490 in spite of speculations that it would hit the N500 to a dollar mark.

However, a group of analysts at Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited in their outlook for the naira in 2017 believed that the local currency under the current market regulatory framework will remain under pressure, unstable until the market is allowed to operate freely and efficiently.

In a bid to reduce gap between the official interbank rate and parallel market rate, Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country on Tuesday set their first ever reference exchange rate for the local currency at N399 to a dollar.

A development, foreign exchange dealers believed would reduce the wide gap between the official interbank and retail foreign exchange rates.