Currency inches closer to N400/Dollar mark as forex issues remain

folarin okunola

August 3, 2016 2:46 PM

Analysts already predict that the Naira could drop as low as N400/Dollar this week as foreign investors remain skeptical.

Nigerian naira notes are seen in this picture illustration March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/Illustration/File Photo

The Naira is gradually dropping further and further to the N400/Dollar threshold as limited dollar supply continues and foreign investors remain reluctant to dig into the Nigerian economy.

On Monday, August 1, 2016, the Naira dropped to N382/Dollar on the parallel market, down about N2 from N380 it traded at last Friday.

Forex traders blamed the plummeting local currency on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) currency controls which in turn affected the inadequate amount of forex on the interbank market.

ALSO READ: Nigeria to raise nearly a billion Dollars in Naira Treasury bills

Analysts already predict that the Naira could drop as low as N400/Dollar this week as foreign investors remain skeptical and the federal government confirmed that Nigeria is 'technically' in a recession.

The CBN has already been making interventions in the interbank market but that has cut back the potential the its free float policy could have on the forex market.

“The market still lacks enough liquidity, we need to do more to boost liquidity. The current rate is a measure of the amount of dollar liquidity at the interbank market,” said Mr. Kunle Ezun, a currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria.

There is still no telling whether the forex market will get any better without the influx of much-needed forex into the market, and the country.

folarin okunola