On Thursday, the naira dropped to N508/$1 at the parallel market compared with N506 per dollar on Wednesday, data obtained from abokiFX. com (a website that collates parallel rates in Lagos), shows.
It was the first decline recorded by the local currency at that segment of the forex market after three consecutive days of gains against the dollar.
At the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) window, naira closed stronger at N411.25 per dollar yesterday, compared with the N411.50/$1 it closed since the beginning of the week, according to FMDQ.
The local currency had dropped to a record low of N525 per dollar at the parallel market last Wednesday, twenty-four hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it would no longer sell forex to Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators.
CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday that the apex bank had discontinued the sales of forex to BDC operators in the country with immediate effect.
He disclosed that the weekly sales of foreign exchange by CBN would go directly to commercial banks in order for them to meet legitimate foreign exchange demands, adding that the regulator would monitor lenders to ensure that they sell forex to every customer who meet its requirements.
