Naira Falls to Record Low Against US Dollar in 2022 at Official Market As Foreign Reserves Fall
- Nigerian currency, Naira has suffered its worst depreciation against the US dollar in 2022
- The last few months have seen Naira come under intense pressure amid serious forex scarcity
- Foreign reserves, which is very important in helping the Central Bank of Nigeria defend is, also depreciating
Nigeria's currency, the Naira, has continued to fall in value against the US dollar, and it is now officially at its lowest level at the official market.
According to FMDQ securities, Nigeria's currency, the Naira, fell on Wednesday, September 7, closing the day at N436.50 per dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E), the country's official foreign exchange market window.
This is the third-consecutive day of record-breaking depreciation, following Monday's close at an 8-month low of N434.7 per dollar and Tuesday at N436.
Source: Facebook
Wednesday rate means Naira has depreciated by 3.21 per cent when compared to N422 quoted on the first trading day this year.
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At the parallel market, popularly called the black market, Naira is also struggling.
The Naira weakened to N691.13 to a dollar from 689.23/$ according to @naira_rates, a Twitter handle that tracks the rates.
Comparing the current rate, the local currency has depreciated by 22.32 percent at the black market from N565/$ it opened 2022.
Bloomberg reports that Naira depreciation has been attributed to the dollar shortage as Nigeria continues to struggle to diversify and improve foreign exchange inflows.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves drop
Meanwhile, Nigerian foreign exchange reserves which are very important for CBN in defending the Naira fell to $38.93 billion as at Monday, 5 September 2022.
This is a 113.1 million depreciation when compared to $39.04 billion it stood at 5 August 2022.
Banks release names of customers using fake visa to buy cheap dollar for resale
Meanwhile, in compliance with CBN directives, ten Nigerian banks have revealed the names of customers buying cheap dollars to resell at the black market likely.
In a circular in July 2021, CBN had directed banks to publicize the identities of persons who engage in such behavior and to restrict them from obtaining currency in the future
The huge gap between the black market and the official rate has further created a market for some unscrupulous Nigerians to profit from
Source: Legit.ng
