Naira depreciates to N748/$ at parallel market amid increased demand

The naira has dropped to N748 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market, popularly called the black or street market.

The figure represents a depreciation of N8 or 1.1 percent from the N740 it traded two weeks ago.

Speaking to TheCable on Friday morning, Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in the Victoria Island area of Lagos said there has been an increase in demand for the greenback by importers at the street market.

They put the buying price of the dollar at N740 and the selling price at N748, leaving an N8 profit margin.

“Demand for dollars is better now. We are selling well,” a currency trader told TheCable.

At the investors and exporters (I&E) forex window, the local currency appreciated by 0.06 percent to close at N462.73 on Thursday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange — a platform where FX is officially traded.

The data also showed that forex worth $164.12 million were transacted among market dealers.

Earlier this week, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said exporters of raw and unprocessed items would now enjoy a rebate for every dollar of non-oil export proceeds sold at the I&E window.

He, however, said the rebate for unprocessed items would not be at the same rate paid for semi-finished and processed products.

“We should be able to give out about N30 to N35 to one dollar for unprocessed items as against the rebate of N65 to every dollar enjoyed by exporters of processed products at the importers and exporters (I&E) window,” the CBN governor said.