Naira Depreciates Further To N415/$ At Parallel Market

Nigerian legal tender, the Naira has depreciated further earlier today to N415/$ at the parallel market.

Naija News Understands that the drop in the national currency’s exchange value is the biggest daily fall against the dollar since 2017, as the exchange rate slumped to N385/$ on Wednesday. The currency also lost against Pounds Sterling as it currently costs ₤1/N470 for sellers and ₤1/N485 for customers buying.

However, reacting to the new development, the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadebe in an exclusive chart with Daily Trust said: “Since the event of black Monday when the oil prices dropped considerably, it sent some kind of panic to portfolio investors who started offloading to buy the dollar.

“The irony, however, is that with the Covic19 and the strict measure being adopted across the globe, there is no safer destination anywhere.”

He further noted the portfolio investors preferred to keep cash and that has fuelled speculations in the parallel market.

Gwadabe said: “On Monday, we sold at N358 to a dollar but by Tuesday through today, it jumped to an all high of N410 to a dollar.”

He also disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has swiftly intervened and cautioned against any form of speculation and that selling of forex to unauthorized end-users will be met with stiff penalty.