Naira value fell against the U. S dollar, the British Pounds, and Euros on Wednesday at the parallel market as the #ENDSARS protects limits movement across the major cities in the country.
At the parallel market naira fell to N462/$1 on Wednesday against N461/$1 it exchanged on Tuesday.
Similarly, naira value fell by N2 respectively against the British pounds and Euros, as it exchanged at N600/£1 and N540/€1 on Wednesday.
The fall in the value of the naira has adversely affected the inflation rate in the country. The recently released in inflation data showed that the Inflation rate in Nigeria rose to 13.71%, the highest in two and half years
However, at the Investors’ and Exporter’s Window, naira value against the dollar slightly appreciated by 0.04% to close at the rate of N385.83/$1.
Naira exchanged as high as N386/$1 and as a low as N380/$1 at the window during the intraday trading on Wednesday according to the data on FMDQ.
Forex turnover at the I&E Window dropped significantly from $79.53 million on Tuesday, to $29.53 million on Wednesday.
In the past weeks, the naira appreciated and appeared to be stable against the dollar as the CBN introduced some stringent measures on import and export to discourage forex abuse and hoarding.
Read more; CBN moves on Shipping and Airline Companies for non-compliance
However, the recent fall in value of the naira against the dollar shows that these measures are not enough for a sustained value gain.
On September 7, 2020, the CBN resumed dollar sales to the BDCs to boost forex availability and discourage hoarding. The apex bank has sold more than $450 million to BDCs since then.
Although CBN measures helped in reducing speculation in the forex market, the pressure from the backlog of demand from foreign investors and manufacturers, coupled with the declining foreign reserve and the protests across the country, creates volatility foreign exchange market.
By; Ifunanya Ikueze
