Naira slumps to N1, 617/$ in official market

Naira slumps to N1, 617/$ in official market

The value of the naira to dollar has tremendously nosedived amid the ongoing hardship protest by Nigerians.

The naira ended the week on a bad note in the foreign exchange market as it recorded a significant depreciation after it lost N47.08 in value.

According to FMDQ data, the naira depreciated to N1, 617.08 per dollar on Friday from N1, 570.00 exchange on Thursday.

Similarly, on the black market, the naira weakened to N1, 610 per dollar on Friday from N1, 600 exchanged the previous day.

A Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone 4, Dayyabu Ashiru, said: “We buy at N1, 610 per dollar on Friday evening from N1600 Thursday, when offices closed due to the Hardship Protest”.

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The unsettling development as reversed the two consecutive gains the naira made on Wednesday and Thursday.

On a week-on-week basis, the naira declined at official and parallel foreign exchange markets which recorded N1, 609.29 and N1595 per dollar, respectively, last Friday.

This means that the currency has failed to stabilise despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy interventions in the past months.

However, the gap between the official and parallel FX markets has continued to shrink which stood at N7.08 on Friday.

The development comes as the hardship protest which started on Thursday entered day two on Friday.

Naira slumps to N1, 617/$ in official market