Fakoyejo Olalekan
The Bureau De Change operators retained the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar in the black market at N288 above that of the official market.
According to some Bureau De Change operators that spoke with Prime Business Africa on Thursday, January 12, 2023, it was learnt that to buy one dollar in the parallel market cost between N740 to N750.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelTo sell the United States currency in the black market, the BDC operators said they are willing to offer N735. This publication had reported that the BDCs have been buying from the public since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped selling to them.
The public has become the major source of foreign exchange for Bureau De Change operators, as the Godwin Emefiele-led financial regulator has insisted on blacklisting the parallel market since the first quarter of 2021.
Prime Business Africa understands that both the exchange rates to buy or sell in the black market is N288 above that of the CBN-backed official market where the exchange rate is sometimes influenced by the central bank through forex intervention, unlike the black market where market forces determine the dollar rate movement.
According to data obtained from the FMDQ Exchange, the exchange rate between the dollar and the Nigerian currency is N461.90/$1 as of Wednesday, January 11, 2023.
The rate appreciated on Wednesday as the naira weakened against the dollar by 0.08 per cent or N0.4 kobo, considering the United States’ greenback closed the previous trading session in the official market by N461.50/$1.
During trading on Wednesday, the dollar rate rose as high as N462, and as low as N440, before settling at N461.90/$1.
It was learnt that traders transacted $151.26 million worth of forex during trading, surpassing the $117.63 million that was exchanged on Tuesday.
On Monday, the dollar rate closed at N461.67/$1, with traders transacting $47.13 million worth of forex in the Investors & Exporters window.
