Naira crashes to all-time high of 525 against dollar

The Nigerian currency plunged to an all-time high of 525 against the dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria stopped the sale of foreign exchange to Bureau de Change operators in the country.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had on Tuesday, at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, announced the stoppage of forex sale to the BDC operators, saying they had turned themselves into “agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria”.

He said the CBN would channel a significant portion of its weekly allocation currently meant for BDCs to commercial banks to meet legitimate forex demand for ordinary Nigerians and businesses,

The naira tumbled to 525 against the dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday, down from 505/$1 on Tuesday. It fell slightly by 0.02 per cent by to 411.60/$1 at the investors’ and exporters’ forex window, according to FMDQ Group.

In May, the CBN devalued the naira as it adopted the NAFEX exchange rate of N410.25 per dollar as its official exchange rate, days after removing the N379/$1 rate from its website.