Naira Drops 242.5 Against Dollar

The naira dropped further to 242.5 against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday as artificial scarcity of the greenback continue to batter the black market, three weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria restricted the sales of foreign exchange to importers.
The naira, which hit 240 against the US currency on Friday, dropped to 241 on Monday. Foreign exchange dealers said the naira weakened to a new low of 242.5 on Wednesday as dollar shortages continued. The Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said he expected the CBN to introduce some measures next week to curb the naira slide. “I believe the CBN will introduce some measures next week to stop the trend, otherwise the naira may hit 250 or even 270 later,” he said. Reuters reported that the CBN sold $80m to BDCs on Wednesday at N196.95 and fixed a spread at which they could resell the dollars of not more than 3.5 per cent to its clearing rate, quoting Gwadabe. On the official interbank market, the naira ended at the central bank’s pegged rate of 196.95 to the dollar.