Naira crashes again, trades at 485/$1, 600/£1

The naira took a fall again on Monday, as it slid to 485 against the dollar and 600 against the British pound at the parallel market.

At the official side of the market, the naira depreciated from 305 to 315 per dollar, while the pound went for N401.

The trend continued Tuesday as the exchange rate remained stable.

This is coming at a time when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is making special forex auction for oil exporters in the country.

Observes blamed PRESIDENT Muhamamdu Buhari’s command and control economic management:

To stabilize exchange rate, Some BDC operators who were caught selling FX above the stipulated limit were arrested by security agencies, both in Lagos and Abuja.

Those arrested would be prosecuted in order to discourage others from flouting the FX regulations as well as the federal government’s objective.

At the time the arrests were carried out, Dollar rate was 465, Pounds 560, Euro 485

With the oil prices on the rise at the global market, and Nigeria’s oil template at N285/$1, the interbank market is seen as incapable  of meeting the needs of oil exporters who need forex at N285/$1 not the market’s N315/$1.

This has necessitated the CBN auction, which is expected to trade dollars below N300.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, in an interview with Reuters, said “his office was working with the central bank to make the foreign exchange market more flexible and more reflective of actual demand and supply”.

This year has seen the local currency depreciated the most in its 43-year history, opening at 197 in January at the official market and 265 at the parallel market.

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