The naira on Thursday, dropped further in the parallel market, as it traded at N950/$1 in Lagos, compared with the N930 to a dollar it went for on Wednesday
However, on the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) window, the naira closed at N781/$1 compared with its opening rate of N782/$1.
The figure represents a N53 or 5.9 percent depreciation compared to the N897 it traded earlier this week.
Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in Lagos said that there is high demand for foreign currency in the street market.
The BDCs put the buying price of the dollar at N935 and the selling price at N950, leaving a profit margin of N15.
This was just as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), yesterday, said Nigeria’s loose fiscal and monetary policies were creating excess liquidity, making it difficult for the naira to stabilise against the dollar two months after authorities allowed the currency to trade freely.
In the same vein, analysts attributed the depreciation of the naira to excess cash in the system, which some specifically accused the state governors of using to mop up dollars, thereby putting pressure on the foreign exchange (FX) market.
Also, on Thursday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) declared a consolidated Group and Bank’s profit of N103.85 billion and N65.62 billion respectively for its 2022 financial year.
The development in the FX market showed that since the unification of forex rates, the commercial banks have not been selling dollars for Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Business Travel Allowance (BTA), Education and medical fees, amongst others, as customers continue to lament the scarcity of the greenback.
