Naira exchanges for N766/$ at parallel market

The naira yesterday depreciated further against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (forex) market.

Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), popularly known as ‘abokis‘ , in Lagos said the naira exchanged at N766 to the dollar at the street market.

The figure signifies a N10 or 1.3 per cent slip compared to the N756 it traded three weeks ago – further widening the gap between parallel and official rates.

The street traders put the buying price of the dollar at N758 and the selling price at N766, leaving a N8 profit margin.

According to The Cable, some of the traders attributed the depreciation of the naira against the greenback to increased demand by customers amid low supply of dollars.

Asked for the reason behind the naira’s fall, a BDC operator in Victoria Island, Lagos, said: “The rate keeps going up. There is high demand in the market. It has even come down a bit. Some people sold for N780/$ yesterday.”

Meanwhile, the local currency appreciated by 0.04 per cent at the official market to close at N461.33/$ on Tuesday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange – a platform that oversees official foreign-exchange trading in Nigeria.

Nigerians are battling with a scarcity of naira notes following the Federal Government’s redesign of N200, N500, and N1000 notes.

Protests have also rocked many parts of the country over the currencies scarcity.

Earlier yesterday, the Supreme Court adjourned a case instituted by the state governments against the Federal Government challenging the implementation of the naira redesign to March 3.