Due to pressure on the black market occasioned by forex scarcity, the exchange rate at the parallel market fell to another 3-year low at the weekend, closing at N465/$1 as against the N461/$1 it started with.
However, on the officially recognized NAFEX Market, the Forex turnover was somewhat stable with only a slight drop of 0.08 per cent as the exchange rate was weakened to N387/$1.
This has made most businesses to source for their foreign exchange at the black market.
The Naira depreciated against the dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window at the weekend, closing at N387 to a dollar, compared to the N386.50 that was reported on Thursday, July 9, representing a 50 kobo drop. This is as traders are still confused over CBN’s adjustment of the exchange rate at the SMIS window.
The opening indicative rate was N386.13 to a dollar on Friday. This represents an 83 kobo gain when compared to the N386.96 to a dollar that was recorded on Thursday.
Meanwhile, forex turnover at the Investor and Exporters (I&E) window was somewhat stable at the weekend, as it dropped by an insignificant 0.08 per cent a day on day.
According to the data, forex turnover slightly dropped from $25.19 million on Thursday, July 9, 2020, to $25.17 million on Friday, July 10, 2020. The low turnover is an indication of the liquidity pressure in the foreign exchange market and a far cry from an average of $200 million recorded at major trading days during the last few weeks.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria had last week adjusted its official from N360 to a dollar to N381 as reflected on the website of the FMDQ. However, the confusion in the forex market still persists as official rate quoted on the website of the CBN remains at N360/$1.
