Currency trades at N351/Dollar on parallel market

folarin okunola

June 28, 2016 10:29 AM

Following the recent Naira float and the adoption of a single structure market through the interbank/autonomous window, the Naira rounded up last week trading at N281/Dollar on the official market.

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On Monday, the Naira fell to N351 against the US Dollar at the parallel market and drop slightly to N282/Dollar on the interbank market.

Aminu Gwadabe, President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, speaking to a Punch correspondent, said the Naira dropped to N351/Dollar on the parallel market due to persisting liquidity issues.

“Lack of liquidity in both the interbank and parallel markets is what is affecting the naira exchange rate to the dollar.

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“Right now, the only thing that the market is scavenging for is the export proceeds. There is a liquidity crisis,” said Gwadabe, according to a Punch report.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has been intervening in the interbank market since it dropped the N197-199 peg of the Naira, asked for bid-offer quotes from currency traders on Monday as it sold Dollars on the interbank market to boost liquidity, Reuters quoted traders as saying.

The interbank market, on Monday, opened with no activity for more than three hours before it went on to trade $32 million just before the market closed, something traders attributed to the intervention of the CBN.

It's been six days since the interbank market started trading following the change in CBN forex policy and traders are expecting considerable currency inflows from oil companies and exporters to start trickling in this week.

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