Naira weakens against dollar at parallel market

The Naira on Wednesday, weakened against the Dollar at the parallel market, our correspondent reports.

The Nigerian currency lost 8 points to exchange at N398, weaker than N390 recorded on Tuesday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N485 and N415.

At the Bureau de Change (BDC) window, the Dollar was sold at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N483 and N430.

Trading at the interbank window saw the Naira closed at N306.2 to the Dollar.

Traders at the market said that they expected the Naira to appreciate by Thursday as BDCs gets additional dollar allocation from CBN.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said that the additional injection of $10,000 by the CBN to BDCs would help to checkmate speculation.

Gwadabe said that CBN’s action justified its determination to continue to strengthen the Naira and get it out of the grips of speculators and hoarders.

Our correspondent reports that CBN, last week, stated that it had increased the volume of Dollar sold to BDCs from 8,000 to 10,000 dollars bi-weekly.

The apex bank hoped to stabilise the Naira exchange rate through its interventions at the foreign exchange market.