Naira sustains gain against dollar, picks up 40 more points

By Odunewu Segun

The Naira on Friday sustained its gains against the dollar as liquidity boost by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had forced a crash in the price of the greenback.

National Daily gathered in Lagos that the Naira exchanged at N460 to a dollar at the parallel market, gaining 40 points from N500 it recorded on Thursday. The Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N575 and N480 respectively.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira closed at N399 to a dollar CBN controlled price, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N610 and N520 respectively.

Trading at the interbank window saw the Naira closed at N305.50 to a dollar.

Traders at the market expected the Naira to sell for less than N400 to a dollar if the boost in liquidity by the CBN was sustained.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said that currency speculators were expected to lose billions of Naira to the new forex policy.

Gwadabe said that speculators were already overwhelmed by the policy as they were taken by surprise by the move of the apex bank.

The new CBN policy directing banks to sell forex for school fees, medicals and other allowances, National Daily gathered, was already impacting positively at the market.

The Nigerian currency had on Wednesday, February 22, firmed up against the U.S Dollar at the parallel or black segment of the foreign exchange market trading at N515 per United States dollar gaining one point from the N516/dollar rate on Tuesday, February 20, before hitting N500 in the early hours of trade on Thursday.