Nigeria’s naira has continued its free fall on Tuesday as it exchanged for the dollar at the parallel market at between 1,005/$ and 1,025/$.
Recall that the naira had maintained a downward trend since the Central Bank of Nigeria allowed a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other foreign currencies in June.
According to Bureau de Change operators, the naira exchanged for the dollar at the parallel market between 1,005/$ and 1,025/$ on Tuesday.
Yusuf Kareem, a BDC operator in Lagos, said: “We bought for N1,005/$ and sold for 1,025/$ on Tuesday. The money is still scarce. The value of the naira has been falling.”
Another BDC operator in Lagos, Musa Yunus, also said: “The naira was traded at 980/$ two weeks ago, but today, it is 1,020/$. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow because it has not been coming down.”
Highlighting the scarcity of the dollar, a BDC operator in Lagos, said: “I am not sure you can buy up to $1,000 from me now because it is not available. We buy at the rate of 1,000/$, but I sell at 1,015/$.”
Also in Abuja, the Assistant Provost, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja, Muhammed Nera, said the rate closed at 1,015/$ on Tuesday.
“As of the close of business, we were buying at N1,010/$ and selling at N1,015/$. But I can’t say what the rates would be tomorrow (today).”
However, on the Investors & Exporters forex window, official figures from the FMDQ showed that the naira fell slightly and closed at 765.83/$ on Tuesday from 765.02/$ on Monday. The official market recorded a total turnover of $60.30m.