Naira value drops further at black market

The value of the Naira to the Dollar continued its depreciation at the black market amid dollar scarcity.

This development has forced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to dig its hands more into the country’s foreign reserves to attend to its various interventions in the foreign exchange market.

Black market traders on Monday morning said that Nigeria’s currency was opening the new week at N584/$1 compared with Friday’s rate of N581/$1.

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While at the official market, Naira against the US dollar closed with an appreciation last week at N416.50/$1 when compared to N416.67/$1 it traded the previous day.

However, against the Pounds Sterling, the Nigerian currency closed weaker by 25 kobo to trade at N547.01/£1 compared to the previously traded rate of N546.76/£1.

But Naira gained N1.16 to close at 459.11/€1 in comparison to the preceding session’s N460.27/€1.

The decision of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, which begins on Monday (today), will have a significant impact on how the Naira performs this week against foreign currencies.

Meanwhile, the increase in oil prices is yet to reflect in the foreign reserves as the CBN intensified its intervention in the foreign exchange markets.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed the external reserves dropped from $39.8 billion as at March 2021 to $39.6 billion as at March 17th.

This indicates a $167.8 million withdrawal in 17 days.