Naira drops to 15-month low against dollar

Nigeria’s local currency, the Naira dropped to a 15-month low on Friday at the parallel market, exchanging for as high as N371 to a Dollar.

A trader at Allen Avenue Ikeja to National Daily that the Naira is likely to go higher as the festive season climaxed, adding that most of them are selling at N371 to the Dollar at the moment.

Meanwhile the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stepped in to save the naira by increasing its auction days to four per week, from December, 2018

On Tuesday, the CBN intervened at the foreign exchange market, pumping $210 million into the system, to keep the naira stable and cut dollar demands and pressure on the naira.

“With the approach of the yuletide season and the resultant increase in the demand for personal/business travel allowance, the CBN has in addition to the existing market days(Monday, Wednesday and Friday) introduced a special intervention every Thursday for $15,000 per BDC (bureau de change),” the bank said in a statement.

The official CBN rates over-the-counter also fell to N306.80 to the greenback, while other currencies also appreciated against the naira.

The British pound and European official currency, Euro, sold for N472 and N415 respectively.

The foreign reserves have maintained a steady rise over the week, standing at $42 billion on Friday, even as oil prices fall across the global market.