Naira defies rising forex reserves, slips to 500/$1

The naira on Friday depreciated further to N500 to a dollar at the parallel market after it had remained stable for nearly three weeks.

According to NAN, the pound sterling and the euro traded at N616 and N530 respectively at the open market.

The Nigerian currency, however, remained stable at the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market exchanging at N399 to a dollar, while the pound sterling and euro closed at N617 and N527, respectively.

The Naira also remained stable at the interbank window exchanging at N305.25 to a dollar.

Traders at the market said that the scarcity of the greenback was far from being over.

NAN reports that in spite of the weekly sale of forex to BDCs by the apex bank, the naira could not resist the temptation to fall.

The parallel  market, which was declared illegal by the BDCs, no longer responds to rising foreign exchange reserves, depreciating even as the reserves appreciate.

The forex reserves have gained more than $2 billion in 2017, rising to $28.2 billion as at Thursday, February 2.