Naira slumps further as dollar scarcity persists

The naira weakened further against the dollar to 473 on Thursday from 470 the previous day, as fresh dollar scarcity continued to hit the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.

This came just as experts and market players said the naira would depreciate slightly further in coming weeks at both the official and parallel markets on the back of gradual increase demand for forex by small businesses stocking for the Christmas and New Year sales.

The CBN and the Federal Government have made several efforts to stabilise the naira and reduce forex scarcity. Many of the measures have, however, failed.