Parallel market rate falls to N378 as speculators lose more
At last, the Naira was exchanged at the parallel market yesterday at N378 to a dollar in over seven months, punishing more speculators, barely one month after the currency hit a record low of N520/$.
Again, with the Naira gaining stability at all ends, there is a renewed optimism that the desire of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to achieve rates convergence between the Interbank and the BDCs markets appears to be in the horizon.
With yesterday’s record, the local unit gained about one per cent over Thursday’s transaction at N380/$ in a move that has seen the currency rebound gradually and steadily in the last three weeks.
At the current rate, the spread between parallel and the new official (retail) segment of the market, where intervention is done at N375/$, stands at N3. The CBN had last month unveiled a new policy that deregulated the retail segment of the forex market, which allowed access to travel allowances, school fees and medical tourism.
Besides, it has intervened persistently in both the interbank and forwards contract market with over $1.5 billion since the new policy, which now crashed the parallel market rate.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday warned speculators that the bank had perfected plans to ensure that exchange rates fall beyond their expectations.This week, the bank intervened with $180million on Monday, $500million on Tuesday and $100million on Thursday, in both 60-day forward market and interbank.
But yesterday, it ended the weekly transactions with $100million offer at the interbank market to meet customers’ demands, out of which authorised dealers were only able to pick $81.347million after an initial bid for $91million.
At the interbank market, usually called the official market, the Naira exchanged for N307/$.Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, attributed the inability of authorised dealers to pick up the entire CBN offer to increasing dollar supply and sense of apprehension among dealers, who anticipate a further crash in the rate of the dollar.
He reiterated the determination of the apex bank to sustain its current interventions in the market, adding: “Those who doubt the capacity of the bank to sustain the intervention in the market are beginning to have a change of mind.”
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28 Comments
Godwin Emefiele, one of the heros of our time. Nigeria is on the journey of self rediscovery, and gradually we shall there.
Lol…he is suddenly a hero. Anyway, thank God you can acknowledge him. But i will give the credit to Buhari and everyone in his government for their patriotism. If they were stealing all the money like the PDP did, there wouldnt be anything to save to intervene now.
well said friend! the people with stolen dollars should have them turn into toilet paper as this intervention continues. they had better bring them out
WELL DONE GODWIN EMEFIELE.
KEEP INTERVENING AND ALSO FLOAT BONDS TO MOP UP EXCESS NAIRA.
NAIRA WILL SOON STRENGTHEN TO 50 NAIRA TO A DOLLAR WITH SPECULATORS FINGERS COMPLETELY BURNT.
GODWIN EMEFIELE, NOW RELAX THE USE OF INTERNATIONAL NAIRA DEBIT CARD TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO DOLLARS FOR NIGERIAN DIASPORA AND PENSIONERS LIVING ABROAD SO THAT THEY CAN WITHDRAW THEIR PENSIONS AT ATM MACHINES IN OVERSEAS COUNTRIES.
GODWIN EMEFIELE, DO NOT NEGLECT PENSIONERS SETTLED IN OVERSEAS COUNTRIES.
And also students studying abroad.
indeed, yes.
Someone should stop this senseless Emefiele from frittering away Nigeria’s foreign reserves in the name of intervention. The Naira ought to be allowed to find its realistic level at between N480 and N500. These so-called interventions are giving the Naira a false, unrealistic exchange rate.
Arm chair economist, what do Nigeria export to warrant devaluation of it currency?
Shut the fk up dude, the one your PDP lords have stashed away must become useless for them. That is the way to go!
I respect you, but disagree with your idea. Emefiele and his staff are doing the right thing and are not senseless and please mind your language, The real value of the Naira is what you are getting now as the law of demand and supply is kicking in. The CBN is making more dollars available and hence supply is outstripping demadn and the Naira is gaining sgrentgh. Now businesses may pick up and be able to import machinery and raw materials to maintain and increase production which will further strengthen the Naira if the products meet international standard and can be exported to earn more forex which will further strenghten the naira.
I stand by my post. Frittering away Nigeria’s foreign reserves will have serious repercussions in the short-, medium- and long run.
You are indeed senseless. What is foreign reserve when people are hungry and businesses are not thriving but dying? You can’t fault Emefiele and this government my friend, they have done a lot to rob your ego for the past 1 year by making the Naira to fall as low as N500 to a dollar yet you couldn’t help the government to invest in the country but stashed the money in foreign accounts and oppressing people back home with ill-gotten wealth. If you don’t like what the government is doing relocate to North Korea. Simple!
its realistic value is one naira to one dollar.
Ure obviously naive….nd totally uninformed, if we had enough foreign reserve in the first place, Naira wouldn’t have crashed that much, now he is trying to stabilise it, u want dollar to remain @ 480 Naira. Obviously ure part of this country’s problem. What is foreign reserve when it can’t translate to a bettter life for citizens of this country
You are a buffoon. I stand by my post.
he is obviously a currency speculator.
The CBN should further lower the official rate from $307 to $200 and sustain the present tempo of supply to shore up the value of the Naira further. Although there are effects on PDP looters and economic saboteurs for now, it will hurt them more to begin offloading their stock of Forex if these kind of drastic step is taken. If in every week, what Nigeria earn in three days in forex is sold to the public, the economy will be better for it as the government will still have something to put away for a rainy day.
Inasmuch as Nigerians appreciate the stability of the naira against the dollar, one wonders why the CBN allowed the situation to get to where it got to before these interventions. Could it be that the CBN deliberately allowed the Naira to fall to it’s lowest ebb in order for some organisations or individuals to benefit from it. Or that these dollars were been sold to some cronies of the president thereby starving genuine business men and organisation of foreign exchange for their businesses. Whatever the case is may be Nigerians desire a stable economic policies that is sustainable so that foreign investors would have the confident to invest and in effect, create job opportunities.
Well said and written and thank you for this piece that spoke my mind, and i bet many others. Good writing indeed. The naira could have been allowed to lose value deliberately, which wasn’t good fr many Nigerians and businesses, in an import dependent economy. CBN should continue the intervention until the Naira gets up to 2.5naira to the USD.
It’s not as easy as that. To a achieve that, we have to remove a lot of things we import and exchange them with exportable products.
They wanted the reserves to get to some critical levels that will give foreign investors some confidence in the economy before starting the massive interventions.
It is noteworthy that the heavy interventions started immediately the reserves crossed 30billion dollars.
Stand by ur post or fall by it… It really doesn’t change the fact that ure a bit intellectually imbalance. What u don’t understand… U can’t force it….. The unfortunate thing for u is that the Naira is appreciating… Nd there is absolutely nothing u can do about it.
You are a moron. The Naira will soon find its level when the reserves dwindle to a point and common sense takes over. Meanwhile, go and learn to write proper English. “intellectually imbalance” is atrocious English, sod.
U re a dummy… Nd it’s no point arguing with a nitwit…. If the English is not correct… Input the correction and move on with ur life. Tell me where Nigeria’s foreign reserve stands as at today. Una go dey read blogs come here begin argue blindly
You are a nincompoop.
Ure swaying away from d point already….. I’m not here to yab u…. Ure too dull to have an objective based argument. Have a nice life… Always gather facts before posting ur opinions….. Don’t join the conversation only because u want to have a contrary opinion…. Join cos u have something substantial to share. Zombie
Keep your unsolicited advice to yourself, swine. Again, “objective based argument” is unpardonable English. Go and argue with your ilk.
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