Naira Currency dips further against dollar

The CBN rose from its bankers committee meeting on Tuesday and announced the increase in weekly forex sales to BDCs from N30,000 to N50,000 dollars.

The Naira on Wednesday depreciated further against the dollar, amid last minute perfection of documentation by Bureau De Change (BDC) operators.

The Nigerian currency lost one point to exchange at N394 to the dollar at the parallel market; while it traded at N505 and N440 against the Pound Sterling and the Euro, respectively.

At the BDC segment of the market, the naira exchanged at N393, N504 and N437 to the dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro respectively.

However, the naira appreciated at the official interbank market as it closed at N314.14 from N324.4 it posted in Tuesday.

Traders at the market said that the perfection of documentation by BDCs was holding the naira from crashing further at the parallel market.

Meanwhile, Mr Harrison Owoh, a BDC operator, said that few banks have begun the sale of forex to some BDCs.

Owoh said that the increase in the forex allocated to BDCs by the apex bank was in the right direction.

He said that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decision was ``a futuristic comment targeted at stifling the invisible hand of currency speculators’’.

He added that the increase was part of the CBNs decision to ensure a robust and sustainable forex supply in the market.