CBN slashes customs FX rate for duty collections as black-market traders crash dollar

The exchange rate for good clearance by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has dipped from N1,500 per dollar to N1,481, a N19 reduction following the naira’s appreciation in the official market.

This comes as the naira appreciated in the official market by 1.93% on Monday, May 20, 2024.

Naira recovers for the second time in a week

The Nigerian currency, the naira, recovered against the US dollar for the second day in the official market in one week.

The naira appreciated N1,468.99 per dollar on Monday, May 20, 2024. The new rate represents a 1.93% increase compared to the N1,497 per dollar on Friday, May 17, 2024.

The naira recorded a 2.5% decline from N1,593 per dollar on Thursday, May 16, 202, the weakest since March this year.

Data from FMDQ Exchange shows that the forex exchange market experienced a market turnover of $161.41, a 93.31% increase from the $83.5 million recorded on Friday, May 17, 2024. Analysts say this contributed to the rise in the naira’s value.

Dollar supply increases

The increase in FX liquidity on the market comes after the daily turnover in the market declined between Thursday, May 16, and Friday, May 17, 2024.

The lowest foreign exchange turnover since January this year was on Friday, May 17, 2024, at $83.51 million.

Reports say Forex traders quoted the dollar at an intraday high of N1,550 and a low of N1,400 per dollar.

Analysts say the naira is being hammered by a lack of FX liquidity, which has continued to pressure the local currency.

They pointed out that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had not sold FX to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in the last three weeks, making it challenging for the local currency to rise to par.

A previous report by Legit.ng shows that the naira is declining against other currencies, including the pound sterling and the euro.