Business

Naira Depreciates Further on Parallel Market, Now N1,160/$1

The naira sustained its slide against the United States dollar on the parallel market as it weakened to N1160/$1, lower than the N1,100 it went for the previous day.

However, on the official Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) FX window, the naira closed at N860.23/$ on Thursday, compared to the N883.56 to a dollar it closed the previous day, according to figures made available by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

On the official I&E window, intra-day trade from the data obtained by FMDQ showed that the highest spot rate exchanged at N999/$1 while the lowest spot rate recorded was N701/$1.

Notably the official I&E window reported a daily volume turnover of $97.47 million, which was a 39.4 per cent increase compared to $69.88 million, it recorded the previous day.

Since the CBN last week announced the lifting of the forex restriction placed on 43 items on the official market, the nation’s currency has been under intense pressure.

The central bank had said it would intervene in the foreign exchange market occasionally to boost liquidity, after ending the eight-year ban on the 43 p items that were restricted from accessing dollars on the official market.

The apex bank in June 2015, had initially included 41 items to the list of commodities which were not-valid to purchase FX from the market, citing the need to conserve the scarce forex and encourage domestic production for self-sufficiency and exports.

The list was thereafter expanded to 43 items.Some of the items listed then as not-fit-for forex included rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel products and vegetable oil, meat and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable products, poultry chicken, private airplanes, tinned fish in sauce, roofing sheets wheelbarrows, head pans, among others.

However, in last week’s statement, the CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, said the central bank would continue to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all participants in the FX market segment to ensure that market forces determine exchange rates on a Willing Buyer – Willing Seller principle.

Nume Ekeghe