Naira drops to N470 but rises at official market

The naira on Friday weakened against the dollar at the parallel market, nullifying the N5 it gained on Thursday to exchange at N470 to a dollar.

However, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the dollar at the official interbank market.

It gained 50k to exchange at N304.50, from N305 posted on Thursday.

At the bureau de change (BDC) segment of the market, the naira closed at N385 CBN controlled rate, while the pound sterling and the euro traded at N560 and N503, respectively.

The pound sterling and the euro closed at N565 and N505, respectively.

Aminu Gwadabe, president Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said during the “ember’’ months the demand for the dollar far -outstripped its supply.

Gwadabe stated that currency speculators leveraged on the delay in the sale of forex to BDCs on Thursday to manipulate the market.

He, however, said that the naira was expected to bounce back fully by the coming days as the CBN, Travelex and some commercial banks were working hard to ease the liquidity challenges.

 -Thecable