Naira gains further, trades at N530 per dollar

The naira on Thursday appreciated further against the dollar at the parallel market, trading at N530 per dollar.

The naira has thus gained N10, which is 1.8 per cent higher than the N540 it traded on Wednesday.

The currency depreciated by 0.1 per cent at the official market to close at N414.73 on Thursday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign-exchange trading in Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had stopped the sale of forex to Bureau De Change operators (BDCs) as part of efforts to prevent further slide of the naira against the dollar.

The CBN said the BDCs had turned themselves into “agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria.”

But the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria has urged the apex bank to allow them to access forex at the official market rate to create more liquidity.

President of ABCON, Aminu Gwadabe, said the association had sent a request to the CBN for an alternative forex window for them to handle Diaspora remittances, capital imports and export proceeds, according to a report by Reuters.

Gwadable was quoted as saying, “We are redefining our business model. Instead of dispensing central bank dollars, let us look at being a distributor of liquidity.”