Forex Market Resumes Today As Naira Drops To 263/dollar

The naira dropped further against the dollar to 263 at the parallel market on Sunday, four days after the local currency fell from 260 to 262.

The naira had closed at 262 against the greenback before the New Year holiday started on Wednesday.

After the Christmas holiday, the local currency had risen from 265 to 260.

Currency analysts have predicted that the naira will remain weak against the dollar at the parallel market until the first week of January following the suspension of foreign exchange sale by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the interbank forex market, which was closed before the Christmas holiday, is due to open on Monday (today).

The suspension is a normal practice in the financial services sector before the Christmas and the New Year holidays.

The Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, told our correspondent on Sunday that the opening of the interbank forex market on Monday (today) would not lead to many activities in the forex market.

“The forex market will open tomorrow (Monday) but nothing much is expected to happen for now. Forex sale is also expected to continue at the BDC segment on Wednesday,” he said.

According to him, the parallel market rates may remain flat for some days before changing.

The CBN had sold $10,000 each to 2,088 BDC operators in its weekly forex sale before the Christmas holiday.

Forex scarcity, which has been causing persistent decline in the nation’s external reserves, is forcing the CBN to ration dollar supply to the banks, importers, BDCs and the general public.

About two weeks ago, the CBN cut its weekly forex sale to the BDCs from $30,000 to $10,000 each.

Earlier, the central bank had refused to sell forex to over 1,600 BDCs over their failure to provide necessary documents for previous allocations. The development made the naira to fall from 241 to 280 at the parallel market two weeks ago.