Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent injection of an additional $10,000 to Bureau De Change operators, the Naira did not appreciate against the US dollar in the foreign exchange market. According to FMDQ data, the Naira experienced a drop to N1308.52 per Dollar on Wednesday, compared to N1,300.15 on Tuesday. This marks an N8.37 decline from Tuesday’s rate.
In the parallel market, the Naira was sold between N1,250 and N1,300 on Wednesday, down from N1230 on Tuesday. Despite the Central Bank’s intervention, which involved selling $10,000 to BDCs at N1,021 per dollar, with a restriction to sell at most 1.5% above the purchase price, the Naira’s depreciation persisted.
This is the third intervention for BDCs as part of the Central Bank’s efforts to stabilize the Naira. However, the official exchange rate still exceeded the parallel market rate by N8.52.
Aminu Gwadabe, the National President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, attributed the recent depreciation of the Naira against the Dollar in the foreign exchange market to peer-to-peer cryptocurrency platforms like Binance. In recent days, the Naira has experienced six depreciations against the Dollar in the foreign exchange market.