By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The naira on Wednesday depreciated against all major currencies. The local currency decreased by 70 points and 100 points against the dollar and pound to trade at N202/$1 and N313.02/£1 respectively.

Similarly, the naira declined by 82 points on the Euro to trade at N229.28/€1.

A Reuters report said an oil firm sold dollars to some lenders on the interbank market below the central bank’s clearing rate, quoting dealers.

According to the report, the currency closed at N202.10 on the interbank market, weaker than Tuesday’s close of 201.10 naira to the dollar, dealers said.

It added the unit traded at N221 against the greenback at the parallel market, operated by bureau de change agents.

The report further affirmed that the local unit of French oil company Total asked lenders to bid for $107 million, which it auctioned within a range of 201.90 to 204 naira to the dollar, dealers said.

Reuters disclosed that three (3) sales were carried out on Wednesday at N198 for a total of $23.76 million, just before the interbank market closed.

The CBN had last week announced the scrapping of its biweekly currency auctions and said it would sell dollars only at N198 revealing an actual devaluation of the currency.

Following the initial devaluation of Nigeria’s local currency by eight (8) percent in November last year, declining world oil prices and the resultant fall in the country’s foreign exchange earnings, the CBN closed the rDAS window and restricted dollar sales to only genuine and legitimate demands.

The report quoted dealers as saying that the CBN was not selling dollars to fill dollar demand it described as “ineligible orders”, including payment for credit cards, leaving lenders to source for hard currency elsewhere.

The CBN an e-mailed notice affirmed that the interbank rate as at the end of Wednesday Closed at N198/$1 same as Tuesday’s session.