Naira falls at official market amid cash crunch

Naira fell slightly against the United States dollar at the Investors and Exporters window on Wednesday, a day after it recorded marginal gain at the spot market in the midst of currency scarcity across the country.

According to data posted on FMDQ website, where forex is officially traded, the local currency closed at ₦461.60 per $1 on Wednesday.

This implies a 0.06 per cent depreciation from N461.50 to a dollar it traded in the previous session on Tuesday.

The Naira which opened the day’s trading at N461:35 per $1, hit an intraday high of N446.00 and declined to a low of N462.01. The local unit eventually settled at N461.60 on Wednesday with $81.95 million posted as forex supply within the business period.

In recent weeks, the naira has moved within the range of N461.25 and N461.60 to a dollar at the authorised window.

The strongest rate the domestic currency has traded this week is the N461.50 per $1 dollar it exchanged Tuesday, the same rate it closed on Wednesday last week.

In Abuja, black market currency traders said the naira was exchanged at N760.00 to a dollar and sold at N765.00 on Wednesday.

In Uyo, currency dealers said the dollar exchanged within the range of N745.00 and N750.00 to a dollar and sold at N755.00 on Wednesday amid increased demand for the greenback.