Naira continues free fall, trades at N1,425 at parallel market

The naira, on Friday, continued its free fall, dropping to N1,425 at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market.

The current FX rate represents a 0.71 percent or N10 increase from the N1,415 traded on Thursday. 

Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators who spoke to TheCable in Lagos, quoted the buying price of the dollar at N1,410 and the selling price at N1,425 — leaving a profit margin of N15.

In the official market, the naira closed against the dollar at N891.90/$ on Friday — a 1 percent appreciation from the N900.96/$ recorded the previous trading day.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of (CBN), had said the naira is currently undervalued.

He said the CBN has returned to the conventional monetary policy approach to achieve price stability,

Meanwhile, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) granted its members permission to publicly post exchange rates online.

“The BDC operators will post the rates at their own comfort. People can not have the same prices. The purpose is not to give the general pricing. Once competition starts there, the platform will help achieve equilibrium,” Aminu Gwadabe, ABCON’s president, said.

Additionally, he distanced BDC operators from the volatility currently experienced in the FX market.