Dollar, Pound, Euro Rates Slump After CBN Lifts Ban On Black Market

The naira increased in value after trading closed on Friday in the official market, appreciating by 0.15 per cent, as the United States Dollar (USD) ended trading at the rate of N739.52/$1.

In the official window, the price of the dollar was dropped by N1.55 kobo by authorised dealers, from the N740.67/$1 rate reported at the close of activities on Thursday.

The closing foreign exchange rate between the naira and the American greenback fell between the day’s highest rate of N799/$1 and the day’s lowest rate of N739/$1.

At the end of the day’s session, authorised dealers and their clients recorded $130.92 million in foreign exchange transactions, replicating the same transactions posted the day before.

Also, according to the parallel market aggregator, Naira Rates, the dollar slumped in the Bureau De Change window of the black market, shedding N44.5 kobo in price.

The aggregator reported that the United States currency depreciated by 5.07 per cent, as the black market average rate of the day in review was N832.9/$1, declining from N877.4/$1.

Similarly, the United Kingdom currency, the pound, fell short of the parallel market’s previous day’s rate of N1,132.8/£1, as it trade at N1075.4/£1 on Friday, indicating the cost of the British pound fell by N57.4 kobo.

Foreign exchange traders in the black market also saw the price of the Euro drop by N53.1 kobo to an average rate of N918.4/€1. During trading the previous day, the rate was placed at N971.5/€1.

The naira extended its gain against the dollar, pound, and Euro after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it will resume selling foreign exchange to the Bureau De Change operators.

Recall that under the suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, the financial regulator restricted the sale of forex to the Bureau De Change centres, accusing them of profiteering and aiding illegal businesses in obtaining forex.

The ban lasted for two years, wiping off the weekly $5,000, given to each BDC operator, from their reserve. This compounded the forex scarcity issue in the black market, leading to the naira depreciating significantly to the dollar in the black market.