Naira depreciates further, exchanges for N572/$1 at parallel market

The Nigerian naira traded at N572 per dollar on Monday at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market.

The figure is higher by N2 or 0.4 percent from the N570 it traded two weeks ago.

Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), popularly known as ‘abokis’, who spoke to TheCable in Lagos, said the naira exchanges for N570-N572 to the dollar while they purchase at N565/$1, leaving a gain of N7.

A parallel market (street market) is characterised by noncompliant behaviour with an institutional set of rules.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has consistently maintained that the parallel market represents less than one percent of foreign exchange (FX) transactions and should never be used to determine Nigeria’s naira/dollar exchange rate.

Meanwhile, the naira depreciated by 0.06 percent at the official market to close at N416.33 on Friday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign-exchange trading in Nigeria.

Recently, deposit money banks shifted personal travel allowance (PTA) and business travel allowance (BTA) rates from N413 to N419 per dollar.

PTA and BTA are currency exchange schemes specifically set up for Nigerians travelling abroad for personal or business reasons. Each traveller can get up to $4000 every quarter to lessen FX disparity at parallel and official markets.