Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate: Investors Hike Cost Of Dollar, As Emefiele Threatens Buyers

July 20, 2022 Dollar Update: The dollar gained against the naira on Wednesday in the official market of the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, rising by 0.51% in value, as foreign currency supply drops.

After the trading session, the Nigerian currency exchanged the dollar by N426.58/$1, reflecting a decline in naira value, as the national currency had traded around N424.17/$1 on Tuesday.

This comes as forex supply depreciated from previous day’s $383.59 million to $144.03 million on Wednesday. This is a drop of 62.45% in the forex supplied to the official market when both days are compared.

Surprisingly, the naira gained ground against the United States’ currency in the black market, appreciating by 0.16% at the end of Wednesday’s trading session, after one dollar was bought for N629/$1.

The exchange rate was in contrast to the N630 that $1 was valued at on Tuesday, indicating that the demand pressure for the US greenback dropped in the parallel market.

This comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) threatened to freeze accounts caught selling naira to buy dollar for purposes beyond that of the financial regulator.

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had made the warning, stating that security officials will also clampdown on persons doing such, as he described it as illegal. He said the account owners would not be allowed to receive or send money out if caught.