The Naira depreciated for the second consecutive day in its exchange rate for the US dollar and other foreign currencies on Wednesday by 0.41% to trade at an average of N743/$1 at the black market, compared to the N740/$1 it exchanged at the previous day.
Some FX dealers at the parallel market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) attributed the sliding rate of the local currency to current slowdown in economic activity nationwide.
Analysts had on Tuesday noted that the US dollar started the week under pressure as traders await US loans data from the US inflation data expected to be released yesterday (Wednesday).
The Naira also depreciated against the Euro to trade at N814/€1 in the day, representing a fall of 0.49% from N810/€1 that was recorded on Tuesday, 9th May 2023.
This is even as it also dipped in its exchange rate for the Pound Sterling f 0.32% to trade at an average of N935/£1, compared to the N932/£1 it exchanged at in the previous day’s trading session.
At the cryptocurrency Peer-to-Peer (P-2-P) Exchange market, the local currency also depreciated to trade at a minimum of N746.35/$1, representing 0.21% decline from the N744.77/$1 it exchanged at during the previous trading session.
The Naira opened the year at an average rate of N736/$1 in the parallel market, recorded its strongest exchange rate at N775/$1 on 20th February 2023 and its lowest exchange value at N730/$1 on 5th January 2023.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been supplying dollars to FX traders at the parallel and official window markets to stabilize the local currency’s exchange rate against major foreign currencies.
However, due to issues related to FX round tripping among the BDC dealers, the apex bank stopped FX supply to the parallel market FX dealers in year 2020 to avoid further abuses in the unofficial FX market.
