PUNCH
Nigeria’s local currency is currently exchanging above 2,000 naira against the Great Britain Pound at the parallel market.
A Bureau de Change operator at Wuse Zone 4, Malam Ibrahim, confirmed the rates on Monday.
He said, Yes it is true, we are currently selling above N2,000 for the pounds and it is still about the heavy and consistent demand for these currencies.”
Our correspondent learned that the new rate increased from N1,930 recorded on Saturday and is currently the lowest point in the historical performance of the naira.
Similarly, the naira depreciated against the dollar in the parallel forex market, where forex is unofficially trading at N1,673 from N1,670/$ on Friday.
These developments persist despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s implementation of several policies aimed at bolstering the supply of foreign exchange.
One of the recent policies was the CBN’s announcement of halting international oil companies operating in Nigeria from immediately remitting 100 per cent of their forex proceeds to their parent companies abroad.
Market analysts attribute the recent decline to a consistent surge in demand for dollars that has been evident since the commencement of January. The primary contributors to this heightened demand include a substantial portion of the demand attributed to businesses actively seeking to restock goods or acquire raw materials, necessitating a higher demand for foreign exchange.
Details later…
