Naira: Official market at N1,482.57/$1 overshoots parallel rate’s N1,450/$1

Naira: Official market at N1,482.57/$1 overshoots parallel rate’s N1,450/$1

Naira has continued its free fall, sinking to a record low of N1,482.57 per dollar on Tuesday due to strong demand on the official market, also known as NAFEM.

Surprisingly, the rate at the official market has overshot the N1,450 for one United States dollar given by a currency dealer in Lagos, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi Wednesday morning to Newstrends reporter.

The plunge came despite current moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the backlog of verified foreign exchange transactions.

The CBN just concluded the payment of all verified claims by airlines with an additional $64.44 million to the affected airlines.

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This represents 9.03 per cent or N133.95 weaker than N1,348.62 recorded at the close of trading on Monday.

The latest development is unprecedented and stands as the lowest point in the historical performance of the naira, as the depreciation exceeded the parallel market rate.

The domestic currency depreciated by 9.03 per cent to close at N1,482.57 to a dollar at the close of business, data from the NAFEM where forex is officially traded, showed.

This represents an N133.95 loss or a 9.03 per cent decline in the local currency compared to the N1,348.62 it closed on Monday.

However, the naira depreciated at the parallel forex market where forex is sold unofficially. On Tuesday, the rate was N1,455/$1, while peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1,481.70/$1.