Naira Continues Free Fall

Currency traders on Wednesday in Lagos
became apprehensive as the Naira
depreciated thrice in six hours at the parallel
market
The traders were meeting in clusters,
painstakingly trying to unravel the rationale
behind the sudden depreciation of the naira
after it had appreciated for about four weeks.
The Naira exchanged at N467 to the dollar as
at 4:30 p.m. after it traded for N455, and
N460 in a couple of hours on Wednesday
while the Pound Sterling and Euro closed at
N560 and N505, respectively.
The Nigerian currency, after weeks of
sustained appreciation, stabilised at N455 to a
dollar prior to its depreciation on Wednesday.
At the Bureau De Change window, the Naira
was sold at N385 to a dollar, CBN controlled
rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro
closed at N553 and N500, respectively.
The official interbank market was not
isolated from the depreciation fever as the
naira lost N1.78 to close at N306.78, from
N305 it posted previously.
Traders at the market could not offer
sufficient reason for the performance of the
naira at the parallel market.
But this is happening at a time when Abuja,
Kano and Port Harcourt are keying into the
First Bank of Nigeria and Travelex Forex
auction window.
Traders believe that the liquidity challenge
would ease off by Thursday after BDCs would
have bought Forex from Travelex in Lagos.
(NAN)