Naira trades at record low, falls to N1,415/$ at parallel market

The naira has hit a record low at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market.

The local currency traded at N1,415 on Thursday — a 3.66 percent decline from N1,365 traded on Tuesday.

Currency traders, also known as Bureau de Change (BDC) operators, put the buying rate of the greenback at N1,400 and the selling price at N1,415 — leaving a profit margin of N15.

“The issue we are facing is as a result of supply/demand imbalance,” a trader who simply identified as Aliyu said. 

Meanwhile, at the official section of the foreign exchange (FX) market, the local currency depreciated by 0.41 percent to N882.24 on Wednesday — from N878.61 on Tuesday. 

FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees official FX trading in Nigeria, said the naira recorded a high of N1,313 and a low of N700.

The development comes after Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of (CBN), said the naira is currently undervalued.

“We believe that the naira is currently undervalued,” Cardoso said.

He said combined with coordinated measures on the fiscal side, the apex bank will accelerate genuine price discovery in the near term.

Cardoso said CBN has reverted to the conventional monetary policy approach with a focus on achieving price stability, which fosters sustainable economic growth.