By John Ikani
The Nigerian naira hit an all-time low after exchanging for N543 against the dollar, at the parallel market on Thursday.
Similarly, the domestic currency fell slightly against the U.S. dollar at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window as the foreign exchange supply decreased sharply.
The naira staged an intraday high of N400.00 and a low of N412.85 at the trading session before closing at N411.67 at the close of business on Thursday.
The spread between the official and unofficial market rates stood at N128.33 as of the close of business on Thursday, which leaves a margin of 23.80 per cent.
The British Pound was also sold for £1/N740.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) some months ago barred the sale of forex to all Bureau de Change operators (BDCs) across the country.
On June 27, 2021, the CBN ended the sales of Forex to BDCs saying the parallel market had become a conduit for illicit Forex flows and graft.
The CBN said it would also no longer process applications for BDC licences in the country.
Weekly sales of foreign exchange by the CBN will henceforth go directly to commercial banks, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said.
The Committee of Banks Chief Executive Officer headed by the CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, had stated on July 29 that the exchange rate would drop to around N423 to the dollar on the parallel market.
Similarly, on August 9, 2021, the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the naira would rise in the parallel market towards 490-495 against the dollar in August/September.
