CEM REPORT, MARKET | The Naira has continued its free fall against the dollar at both the official window and the alternative market on the last day of the week following what dealers described as shortage of the hard currency in the market to meet demand by foreign exchange seekers
Report reaching CEM says that dollar is currently exchanging for N1,179 per dollar, an increase from yesterday price of N1,100 at the alternative market. On this day, dealers are buying the currency at N1,083
The naira has lost N127 to the dollar since the beginning of the week having falling from N1,152 it started the trading week with, representing 12.07%. The rate had slightly moved to N1,155 on Tuesday before hitting N1,088 on Wednesday.
At the official exchange market, 1 dollar is exchanging for N860.232, a gain of N94.991 compared to the N765.241 it began the week with.
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According to figures from FMDQ Exchange, dollar recorded an intra-day high of N996 and intra-day low of N701, total value of foreign exchange transactions in NFEM stands at $69.55 million.
Foreign exchange dealers have continued to blame high exchange rate on the scarcity of dollars in the market. While it was thought that granting commodity importers access to foreign exchange from official market would reduce pressure on the BDC market, reality have shown otherwise.
The announcement by CBN seems to have sparked off demand beyond what the CBN can meet as importers now seek to step up their volume which has pushed them back to the unofficial market. This is compounded by speculation that dollar value will increase leading to hoarding of the currency.
