Naira Crashes to Record Low of 311 Per Dollar at Parallel Market

The Naira hit record low against the dollar and other major foreign currencies, on Thursday, February 4, in the parallel market, widening the wide gap between official rate and that of black market.
The local currency, which has been hit by the lingering plunge of crude oil prices, slid to 311 a dollar in Abuja and Lagos, some dealers reported.

The British Pound Sterling was sold at N432 yesterday while the Euro exchanged at N331 at the parallel market. The interbank rate, as at yesterday, was 199.25 a dollar, 290.92 to Pound Sterling and 223.24 to a Euro.

There are lots of pressure on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to devalue the naira in order to adjust to the reality due to the fall in the price of crude oil in the global market.

Oil and gas generate about 95 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange. In recent times, a barrel of crude has fallen to $27.
The naira had lost about 30 per cent of its value at the parallel market following the suspension of the weekly auction to the Bureau de Change operators (BDCs) last month by the CBN.

The governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, said recently that the widening gap between the parallel market and the interbank is not an issue as the parallel market is very insignificant to forex transactions.

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