ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The Nigerian currency, the naira, plunged to a new record low on the spot market, trading at N469.50/$ in the official market on Thursday.
Following this, the naira fell significantly against the United State dollar in the official market, reaching its lowest rate in the market amidst forex scarcity in the country.
This is as the local unit has recorded no movement on the spot market within the past seven market sessions.
According to data from the FMDQ securities exchange window where forex is officially traded, it showed that naira closed at N469.50 per dollar on Thursday, the lowest it has ever traded on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
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Also, the currency’s performance on Thursday signifies a N4.83 or 1.04 per cent depreciation from N464.67 it has been trading since last week Wednesday, with $74.18 million posted as forex turnover within the business period.
Naira recorded an intraday high of N460.00 and a low of N476.50 before closing at N469.50 per $1 on Thursday.
Therefore, the fall of the naira at the official window comes less than two weeks after Nigeria’s newly sworn-in President, Bola Tinubu, during his inaugural speech on 29 May, hinted that the Central Bank of Nigeria must work towards a unified exchange rate.
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Tinubu said the country’s monetary policy needs thorough house cleaning, adding that this will direct funds away from arbitrage into investment in plants, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.
Meanwhile, the local unit depreciated further at the unofficial market on Thursday.
Currency dealers said the dollar was exchanged at N762.00 and sold for N765.00 to a dollar on Thursday as against N755.00 it exchanged in the previous session on Wednesday.