Naira falls to 498 against dollar as forex reserves dip

The Nigerian currency has weakened further against the dollar at the parallel market, moving closer to 500/$1.

The naira exchange rate stood at 498/$1 on Wednesday, down from 495/$1 on Monday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira last week as it adopted the NAFEX exchange rate of N410.25 per dollar last Tuesday as its official exchange rate, days after removing the N379/$1 rate from its website.

Markets Reporters had reported on Wednesday that the country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $650 million last month, according to data from the CBN.

The reserves, which have been on a downward trajectory in recent weeks, fell to $34.23 billion on May 31 from $34.88 billion at the end of last month.