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The naira fell to a record low of N1,400/$ at the parallel market on Thursday despite recent efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to save the national currency.

With continued dollar scarcity plaguing the country, Bureau de Change Operators confirmed to The PUNCH that the naira touched new depths in the foreign exchange market.

A BDC operator at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Usman Ibrahim, said, “For today, one dollar is N1,400 but if you don’t buy it today, I cannot assure you of the same price tomorrow. I also buy at N1,390 to a dollar.”

Another operator, Abubakar Taura confirmed that the naira depreciated further to N1,400 to a dollar.


He stated, “As of today, the dollar has gone up. It now sells for N1400/$.”

According to the BDC operators, there is currently uncertainty as regards the price of the naira against the dollar due to high demand.

On the official Investor and Exporter window, the naira depreciated by 2.12 per cent to N900.96/$ from the N882.24/$ it closed on Wednesday. Transactions opened at N929.18/$, rose to a high of N1,399/$, and recorded a low of N789/$. Total FX turnover was $115.19m, a 103.52 per cent increase from the $56.60m that was recorded on Wednesday.

The national currency didn’t do better on the cryptocurrency peer-to-peer market where it rose to a high of N1,400/$ too. As of the time of filing this report, the naira was trading on Binance’s P2P platform for N1,395.8/$.

According to Chainalysis, a blockchain firm, Nigeria has one of the largest peer-to-peer exchange volumes in the world.

The naira’s fall has persisted despite the best efforts of the CBN to save it, piling more pressure on the economy and the average Nigerian. Recently, the apex bank announced it has paid $2bn as part of FX backlogs, also the Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited got a $2.25bn oil-for-cash loan facility from the African Export-Import Bank to boost FX liquidity.

All these are yet to be reflected in the market. Commenting on the exchange rate recently, the CBN’s governor, Olayemi Cardoso, stated that there was an expectation that the foreign exchange market would stabilise in 2024.

He hinged this expectation on the reduction in petroleum product imports and the recent implementation of a market-determined exchange rate policy by the apex bank.

He also said the naira was currently undervalued.

Announcing other moves by the bank at the launch of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group 2024 Macroeconomic Outlook Report, the governor said, “I am pleased to note our collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the NNPCL to ensure that all FX inflows are returned to the Central Bank.

“This coordinated effort will greatly enhance the bank’s FX flows and contribute to the accretion of reserves.” He added that the bank is implementing a comprehensive strategy to improve liquidity in the FX markets. Cardoso expressed the belief that the national currency is currently undervalued and, “coupled with coordinated measures on the fiscal side, we will expedite genuine price discovery in the near term.”

According to the International Monetary Fund, the volatility of the exchange rate can be linked to excess naira in circulation. Nigeria’s Country Representative, International Monetary Fund, Dr. Christian Ebeke, recently said, “This is because if you look at naira pressures, you can decompose them into three main categories. One is the fact that you have excess naira in the market.

“The second one is structural; the market is new. These reforms are bold, the government needed a lot of courage to let the naira depreciate like that in a country where the naira has been quite stable for a while.

“The market is still new. It is still in its price discovery mode. Market participants are still learning how to transact in an orderly fashion. These structural factors affect the naira because the market is new, it is a little bit shallow is also responsible for volatility in the market.

“Then, there is also uncertainty in the market. I am not sure that the parallel rate is the ultimate rate. At some point, we may think about a fair naira rate that is probably between what we see in the parallel market and the official market. But it is very difficult while you are still in the transition phase to talk about what is a fair value and what we are seeing.”

Recently, the Group Managing Director of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, projected that the naira might depreciate to N1,500/$ in 2024.

He said, “The worst case scenario is that the naira could worsen to N1,500 against the dollar.”

Source: https://punchng.com/Naira-drops-at-parallel-market-closes-900/$-official-window

Make una Kontinuuuu

This is the result of:
- the disastrous change that Tinubu and Buhari brought to Nigeria.
- monumental next level of failure that Osinbajo and Buhari incubated
- and the tribulation of renewed hopelessness from Tinubu
.. allwell, next time gullibility and tribalism will no longer becloud our judgment. When a man said #emilokan, we will ask,"lokan to where exactly?"

Let them loud the hunger with hyperinflation, na them go still suffer-am. Soon, many will start eating 0-0-1 per day.

The Buhari government destroyed the economy, and the Tinubu administration will bury it in a coffin.

APC is a party of evil people who wanted power at all cost without a roadmap of what to do with it.

The judiciary is bought, the national assembly is rubber-stamp, and thats why the common man is living in bondage.

Nigerians had it coming alright

The cbn guy looks like a slowpoke already so i refuse to be surprise. Today we are floating naira so it can find it's value then 2moro the slowpoke will use the same bucka cavity to say that naira is undervalued.
Agbadorians will be researching extensively on How to make the right decision.

Awa wa country 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hehehe.

The master strategist has done it again. The one who built Dubai, south Korea and Lagos has done it.

As I write ,he has gone to France to bring in the magic. Once he is back 1 naira will be equal to 1 dollar .

How people can trust someone who said he will continue in Buhari's footsteps is what baffles me. Like seriously, taking after Buhari,that should have been the number one red flag .

His first move was to start shouting, subsidy is gone, subsidy is gone without any measure to cushion the effect of such action.

As if that wasn't bad enough,he went ahead to float the naira,like seriously,who carry out decisions of this magnitude in quick succession.

Tinubu with all his foreign fake certificates in accounting he's only good at appointing incompetent leaders to head Nigeria....

After appointing Buhari, he realised that he was far worse than Buhari and had to appoint himself to destroy the country.

Noted.

adenigga:

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Source: https://punchng.com/Naira-drops-at-parallel-market-closes-900/$-official-window

Good one

4years of TINUBULATION

Anyone earning dollar in this economy is surplus and opor

Validated:
[/b] next time gullibility and tribalism will no longer becloud our judgment. When a man said #emilokan, we will ask,"lokan to where exactly?"

Let them loud the hunger with hyperinflation, na them go still suffer-am. Soon, many will start eating 0-0-1 per day.

I really don't understand you people that wish the country bad. What makes it worse is that 90% of you people earn in Nigeria. I earn in dollar, when there is inflation, my dollar gives me an edge or at worse cancels things out for me ( my buying power doesn't diminish ) but most of you people wishing hell on Nigeria earn in naira. Almost like putting fire to your one and only house with no escape route.

Quiet senseless if you ask me.

JASONjnr:
Tinubu with all his foreign fake certificates in accounting he's only good at appointing incompetent leaders to head Nigeria....

After appointing Buhari, he realised that he was far worse than Buhari and had to appoint himself to destroy the country.

Guy you funny

The way nigeria and its naira is sinking these days ehn. . . . Even the Almighty unsinkable titanic would be jealous

The Mariana Trench no go fit accommodate the sinking under our emilokan captain that is if him no abandon ship japa before water swallow am final

adenigga:

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Source: https://punchng.com/Naira-drops-at-parallel-market-closes-900/$-official-window

no need to worry, naira will bounce back. I heard a governor took money in bullion van to bureau de change. Expect dollar to fall to as low as #50 soon.

Are they still standing on jagaban manhood?

1400 .... this is getting ridiculous

This is really sad

Sebi awa lokan.. we are heading to 5000.

A ma to gbon.

If you are my blood brother and I know you are not competent to run my company. Blood, I will appoint competent hand because Leadership skills is different. But if I'm bias cause you are my mother son, bro you know we are sinking together.

OBI, OBI, importer and exporter... Na statistics we go chop and we all laughed it off without reading the meaning

From around #700 to #1400 less than a year after he took over?

We have resigned to fate. The CBN governor, Taiwo Oyedele and all the people the president has assembled are all clueless. Brace yourselves, we have a very bumpy ride ahead.

Since Nigerians have refused to be wise, we will suffer together. My people perish because of lack of knowledge.

Tinubu will handle the economy 😁 🤣 🤣 🤣

This was my analysis 3 months ago:

socialmediaman:
Let's test this projection:

1. Price of oil will stay up because of the conflicts in the middle east and eastern europe, which should be an advantage to Nigeria. The problem, however, is that Nigeria has swapped a lot of crude oil for advance payment, so this may not really make much impact

2. After what Buhari did in the last election, a lot of corrupt money will be in USD under lock and key permanently because politicians don't want to go through those problems again, so there will be continued demand pressure on USD

3. Nigeria exports very little and imports a lot, so USD inflow from business exports is not significant enough to drive down demand pressure on USD.

4. International remittances from abroad should ordinarily provide some liquidity, but the internal pressure from businessmen (importers), corrupt politicians, and JAPA people will continue to put demand pressure on the USD

5. USD has been rising against other currencies of the world not just the naira, if that trend continues, why will it crash against the naira?

6. Nigeria is a very corrupt country, policies rarely work, especially coming from a government with disputed legitimacy. Politicians are taking advantage of FX corrupt backdoor deals happening daily in the country, and I don't see this ending anytime soon

I think what happening is the usual rise of fall wedges while the currency is on its way up, as shown below

Verdict: We believe there is no solid evidence to back the claim that USD will crash against the naira

@ Originalsly

damosade:
Sebi awa lokan.. we are heading to 5000

And if we check it well now, you earn in naira. You are praying hard that your earning power should diminish all because you hate the person who is president.

It is senseless, to be honest.

It is finished

Daddy G O , when your prayer go work ? Since 2016 when 1 dollar was 210 naira you made this decree naira no rise again.

Sigh... This Currency is 'dying' faster than most of us predicted.