Naira Slips Again As Dollar Supply Drops

After gaining on Tuesday, 8 October the Nigerian naira has depreciated again at the official market.

The local currency closed trading on Wednesday, 9 October at the rate of N1,625.13 per dollar at the official market.

This reflects a N63.37 gain or 4.06 per cent when compared to the previous day’s closing rate of N1561.76 per dollar, according to Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) data published on the FMDQ Securities and Exchange platform.

Similarly, the naira experienced depreciation at the parallel market also known as the black market as the exchange rate moved from N1680 to N1690 per dollar.

The NAFEM data showed that trading at the Importers and Exporters (I&E) window was between N1,652.00/$ and N1,560.00/$.

The data on FMDQ platform showed that dollar supply to the market dropped by 32.75 per cent from $253.68 million recorded on Tuesday to $170.60 million on Wednesday.

The naira depreciation comes as the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased its pump price of petrol to N1,030 and N998 per liter in Abuja and Lagos from N897, raising concerns about further spike in inflation and the impact on cost of living in the country.