The exchange rate at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) window continued it weakened more at the Investors and Exporters window on Tuesday, February 2, 2021.
The foreign exchange closed at N395.00 to one dollar as against N394 to one dollar closing rate on Monday.
NAFEX, also known as Investors and Exporters forex window, is where forex is traded officially.
The closing rate indicated that naira depreciated in value by N1.
The naira traded for as high as N416.95 at the I and E window on Tuesday on the back of plunging forex reserves and rising demand for forex.
The forex reserves reduced by $36.81 million or by 0.1 percent between January 26 and 27, 2021.
It reduced from $36.431 million to $36.395 million.
This is despite repeated warnings issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria to international money transfer operators (IMTOs) and unlicensed companies to stop the payment of diaspora remittances into the country in naira.
The apex bank insisted that all diaspora remittances must be received by beneficiaries in foreign currency only through cash and/or transfers to domiciliary accounts of recipients.
The financial regulator threatened to sanction and withdraw the licences of those who contravened the guideline.
However, the CBN’s official rate remained stable at N379 to one dollar.
At the parallel market/black market, the naira to dollar exchange rate remained stable at N480 to one dollar after attaining the new peak on Friday last week.
The exchange rate disparity between the parallel market and the official market is about N85, representing a 17.7 percent devaluation differential.
