Naira drops to N607/$ at parallel market

The naira has again dropped in value against the dollar at the parallel segment of the foreign exchange market.

According to the Bureaux de Change operators (BDCs), the naira on Tuesday traded at N607 to the dollar on the black market.

The figure represents a depreciation of N2 or 0.3 per cent compared to the N605 it traded about two weeks ago.

The black market traders put the buying price of the dollar on Tuesday at N601 and the selling price at N607, leaving N6 profit margin.

According to a report by TheCable, since the suspension of trading information by abokiFX, citizens have resorted to traders on the black market.

Though the parallel segment is more open to traders and businesses needing foreign exchange (FX), the Central Bank of Nigeria has consistently maintained that it represents less than one per cent of forex transactions and should never be used to determine the exchange rate.

On the official market side, the local currency depreciated by 0.3 per cent to close at N421.25 to the dollar at the end of the last trading day (Friday, June 10), according to details on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign exchange trading in Nigeria.

An exchange rate of N444 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading and a low of N413.

Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) recently urged the apex bank to use its members to stabilise the FX market.