Naira depreciates further at parallel market, trades at N1,260/$

The naira on Monday depreciated further to N1,260 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The latest figure represents a 2.44 percent drop from the N1,230 per dollar traded on April 19.

Currency traders, known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, quoted the buying rate at N1,230 and the selling price at N1,260 — leaving a profit margin of N30.

At the official window, the naira depreciated to N1,234.49 against the dollar on Monday — a 5.51 percent decline from the N1,169.99/$ traded on April 19.

The local currency traded at a high of N1,295 and a low of N1,051, according to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees official FX trading in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on April 20, said it is doing everything possible to achieve a stable FX rate.

Speaking during a press conference held at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group, Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, said the regulator is also working to ensure the exchange rate finds its adequate price discovery level. 

“Again, to be honest, I think we should expect that there will be increases here and there, ups and downs and even from what you’ve reported yesterday, from what I gather, the naira has begun strengthening overnight,” he said.

He added that the local currency will continue to appreciate against foreign currencies.