Naira trades at 498/$ as foreign reserves hit 10-month high

Despite the continuous rise in Nigeria’s foreign reserves, the naira is currently trading at 498 to the dollar, defying the movement in reserves.

The foreign reserves hit a 10-month high on Thursday, surging to $27.378 billion, which is also its highest point in 2017.

For 2017 alone, the foreign exchange has added over $1 billion, climbing out of an 11-year low. The naira was however seen as trading at 305 per dollar at the official side of the foreign exchange market.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the government was in talks with the CBN to fully implement the “free-float” foreign exchange policy, but it simply could not float the naira.

“We already have a foreign exchange policy. Now, that policy, that is the point I have been making all along, that stabilising that policy, ensuring that it works fully, is really what we are trying to get to, in our interactions with the central bank, which of course is independent,” he had said.

“We are trying to get them to see that you need to implement this policy fully. Central bank of course has its own constraints; we have to be careful.

“We simply can’t allow the currency to float; we have to look at all of the market conditions and all of that. But really, the point we are making is that we must create the environment which will help the Central Bank as well.”

The British pound and euro were trading at 596 and 520 respectively at the parallel market, while also exchanging for 388, 337 at the official side.