Naira Hits ₦1,200/Dollar As CBN Sells $10,000 To BDCs

Nigerians have continued to celebrate as the naira appreciated to ₦1,200/dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

Naija News gathered that the figure indicates an increase of N40 from the ₦1,240/dollar reported on April 3.

It was learned that licensed and unlicensed Bureau De Change operators at the popular Wuse Zone 4 quoted the buying rate of the local currency between ₦1,100 and 1,150, while the selling rate was between ₦1,150 and 1200.

Speaking with The Punch, a Bureau De change operator, Malam Yahu, said, “The dollar was quoted at ₦1,200 on Tuesday, and we sold at that price because of the public holiday. But we are buying at ₦1,100 and selling at ₦1,200, and I am sure that by tomorrow, the price will drop further. Demand has really gone down, and our traders have travelled, so you won’t find traders at the market now.”

The new rate followed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to review the exchange rate for the Bureau De Charge Operators to ₦1,101 per dollar from ₦1,251/$1 as it plans to sell $15.88 million to 1,588 eligible BDCs.

In a letter addressed to the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, the CBN announced the sale of $10,000 to the BDC operators at an exchange rate of ₦1,101 per US dollar.

In March, the apex bank sold $10,000 to BDCs at a rate of ₦1,251/$ and directed the BDCs to sell to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price (₦1,269/$1).

This followed the bank’s earlier decision in February to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to eligible BDCs across the country.

This recent move follows an appeal by the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria to the CBN to adjust and lower its applicable exchange rate below the ₦1,251/$ it pegged for its members.