Naira’s Free-Fall Continues

Naira fell significantly against the U.S. dollar at both the unofficial and official markets on Monday, taking what has become the trend in the last week to a new low.

According to abokiFX.com, a website that collates black market rates in Lagos, the local unit closed at N550.00 per $1 at the black market window on Monday. This implies a N5.00 or 0.92 per cent devaluation from the N545.00 it exchanged on Friday last week.

Naira, which opened at N545.00 at the parallel market segment, hit N549.00 at noon, before closing at N550.00 on Monday.

The currency has maintained a steady decline on the black market segment for six consecutive sessions on a stretch.

Similarly, the naira saw a pronounced decline against the dollar at the official market on Monday as foreign exchange supply rose significantly.

According to data recorded on the FMDQ securities exchange window where forex is officially traded, naira closed at N412.75 per $1 at the official window on Monday, the lowest decline the currency touched on the official window.

This translates to a N0.75 or 0.20 per depreciation from the N412.00 it exchanged hands with the greenback currency in the previous session on Friday last week.