Dollar Heading Peacefully To N1,000 At Parallel Market

The pressure on the foreign exchange market continued on Tuesday, with the dollar exchanging at N615 at the parallel market in Lagos and Abuja.

This is even as the percentage of local raw materials sourced by Nigerian manufacturers declined to 52.4 per cent in 2021, from 57.5 per cent obtained in 2020, according to data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

Punch market research showed that a dollar sold for N613 and N614 at Zone 4 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, but the rate was N615 at Amuwo Odofin and Lagos airports on Tuesday.  At Abuja airports, a dollar was sold for N615. The situation was different at the Importers and Exporters window where a dollar went for N415.64, putting the margin between the official and the parallel markets at N199.36.

Bureau de Change players said dollars were becoming increasingly scarce and the price could get to N700 before the end of the year.