Naira tumbles to 482/dollar, lowest in nearly three months
The Nigerian currency closed weaker against the United States dollar at the parallel market and the investors’ & exporters’ window on Friday.
The naira fell from 480 against the greenback on Thursday to 482/$1 on Friday at the parallel market, its lowest level since Dec. 8, 2020, according to NgnRates.com, a financial technology project providing the most recent naira rates.
The local currency had on Nov. 30, 2020 plunged to 500/$1, its weakest point in more than three years, but rose to 470/$1 on Dec. 3. It however weakened to 483/$1 on Dec. 8.
At the I&E window, where more than 50 percent of forex demand is met, the naira declined by 0.39 percent to 410.25/$1 on Friday, according to FMDQ Group.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said on Friday that the drop in crude oil earnings and the associated reduction in foreign portfolio inflows significantly affected the supply of foreign exchange into Nigeria.
“In order to adjust for the decrease in the supply of foreign exchange, the naira depreciated at the official window from N305/$ to N360/$ and now hovers around N410/$,” he said at a summit in Lagos.
