By Francis Ogwo
The naira has been reportedly devalued by the Central Bank as it has sold the US Dollar to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators are N392.
This was confirmed through a message sent to the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) members on Friday which read:
“Following the CBN adjustment of our weekly bidding rate from #384/$ to #390/$ by the CBN from today, members are advised to make up the payment of the Differencials of #60k on or before monday 30/11/2020 by 1pm.
“Please ensure compliance and be guided appropriately. Funding rate is now 390/$ from today. Kindly add up the #60,000 difference from now till 1pm on Monday, come with your 60k teller on Tuesday for collection. Our reviewed selling rate is now 392/$. Please comply accordingly,” the released concluded.
This development according to observers has brought the naira to a freefall.
As at Wednesday 25th of November, the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at ₦480/US$1 in the parallel market. This is seen as a stronger push of the country’s currency deeper into the doldrums of tougher times even as the country battles.
Recall that the central bank had in a press release recently said “market fundamentals do not support naira devaluation at this time”, detailing reasons why it did not need to devalue.
The current price to BDCs at the I&E window has now officially depreciated even as the price of oil drops globally.
In November of 2020, price of Brent crude was at 41.97$ per barrel, while the price was 40.19$ dollars per barrel in October of 2020. Over last twelve months the price has fallen by 33.6%.
