Naira hits N590/$1 at parallel market ahead of Easter break

As the Easter holiday approaches, the Nigerian naira weakened to N590 to a dollar at the parallel market.

The figure represents a depreciation of N3 or 0.5 per cent from the N587 it traded for the last two weeks.

On Thursday morning, street traders (abokis) told TheCable that one dollar exchanged for N590.

They put the buying price of the dollar at N585 and the selling price at N590, leaving a N5 profit margin.

A BDC operator at Ikeja, simply identified as Musa, told TheCable that there has been a surge in demand for the greenback because of the fast-approaching Easter holiday.

The federal government had declared April 15 and 18, 2022, as public holidays to mark the Easter celebration.

“I think it’s because there is no work tomorrow and Monday,” Musa said.

At the official market, the local currency depreciated by 0.01 per cent to close at N416.67/a dollar on Wednesday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign-exchange trading in Nigeria.

There was huge pressure in the market as the local currency touched an intraday high of N410.00 and a low of N444.00 before closing at N416.67 on Wednesday.

TheCable earlier reported that some foreign airlines operating in Nigeria will begin the sale of tickets in US dollars with effect from April 19, 2022.

The development may cause the naira to weaken due to rising dollar demand as Nigerian travellers may have to buy dollars from the parallel market to purchase tickets.