Fakoyejo Olalekan
Foreign exchange traders in the black market were offered the dollar at an average rate of N754.5 kobo on Wednesday.
Naira Rates, a black market rate aggregator, reported that the price of the United States Dollar (USD)increased by 0.14% or N1.1 kobo from the N753.4/$1 rate during trading on Tuesday.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAlso, the British pounds were sold at N951.3/£1 to investors and exporters, the same rate they bought the foreign currency the day before.
However, the naira gained some value against the euro, resulting in N0.58 kobo decline in price, as forex traders exchanged both currencies at N819.02/€1 rate, below Tuesday’s N819.6/€1.
There were no changes as regards the dollar rate in the official market backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the FMDQ Exchange, the naira exchanged for the dollar at the rate of N464.67/$1 at the close of trading, indicating stability in the official window.
This was despite the rate trading at a high of N476/$1 and a low of N460/$1 before the curtain was drawn down on yesterday’s session.
Meanwhile, the value of foreign exchange traded dropped by $45.71 million or 24.57%, as forex traders exchanged $140.31 million, as against the $186.02 million transacted the day before.
The supply of foreign exchange remains a challenge to investors and exporters, and this has led to an increase in aviation revenue trapped in Nigeria.
Nigeria accounts for 54% of the total aviation revenue trapped globally, as international airlines struggle to access forex in the official market due to the bottleneck placed around FX application by the CBN amid the scarcity of foreign exchange.
Currently, international airlines have $821.2 billion in revenue in Nigeria which they can’t repatriate out of the country.
They have called on the CBN to release forex for them to exchange at the official market rate, as approaching the black market would result in losses due to the premium rate offered by the Bureau De Change operators.
The International Airline Travel Association (IATA) has disclosed that foreign airlines will meet with representatives of President Bola Tinubu’s government to find a solution to the trapped funds.
