Naira hovered at the rate of 472 to the United States dollar on the parallel market on Tuesday, the same rate it sold for the session before.
The local currency had touched its weakest level since February 2017 on Monday as announcements by banks of new overseas spending curbs on foreign currency-denominated debit cards worsened the current foreign exchange crunch.
That same day, Naira depreciated to 472 against the dollar, 1.5% weaker than the 465 reported at the previous trading session according to aboki.FX, which collates rates from street traders and bureaux de change.
Read also: Naira falls to N470 per dollar at parallel market
At its latest devaluation round earlier this month, the Central Bank of Nigeria weakened the official exchange rate to N381, from N360, a move targeting parity with the rate offered at the over-the-counter spot principally used by investors and exporters, in an effort to unify Nigeria’s multiple exchange rates.
“It’s an adjustment process. We believe as dollars become more available and the liquidity in the market becomes more and more, what we will find is that the rate will appreciate,” Godwin Emefiele, the apex bank’s chief told newsmen at Monday’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
Meanwhile, the local currency appreciated against the dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the currency market on Tuesday, closing trade at 388.17 to a dollar, a 33 kobo gain over Monday’s rate, meaning the gulf between the black market rate and that of the I&E window currently stands at $83.83.
Traders are now looking to government’s budget support facility of $3 billion from the World Bank to bolster liquidity in the market.
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