By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE) –The naira on Monday traded N226 to the dollar on the parallel (Black) market down 2.7 percent since the introduction of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) new foreign exchange (FOREX) to curb declining foreign reserves, a Reuters report quoted traders.
The report says the Nigerian local currency sold for N220 to the dollar before the new central bank measures announced on Wednesday restricting importers from sourcing FOREX from the interbank market to buy 41 items including foreign bonds, rice and cement.
Trading on the interbank market, which is pegged around the CBN’s rate of N196.90, was at 198.90 naira on Monday, according to the Reuters report.
The CBN in an email notice to investAdvocate reports that interbank rate closed at N196.95.
A Cordros daily market update reported that the naira remained flat compared to the greenback to trade N199.00/1$.
According to the report, the naira lost 70 basis points (BPS) and 39 BPS on the pound and euro to trade at N312.85/1£ and N221.26/1€ respectively.
“As expected, there appears to be growing pressure on the naira at the parallel market where the local currency traded at N226/$1 (vs. N200/$1 pre-circular rate) today. This could be short-lived though,” the report added.
