The Naira has crashed to N251 to the US dollar at the parallel market against the N197 to the dollar at the official window. This follows the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to cut foreign exchange supply to Bureau De Change operators.
On December 2, the CBN refused to sell forex to BDCs that failed to render returns on the disbursement of forex bought at the official window. The dollar was selling for between N241 and N243 before Wednesday’s decision.
Also, Nigeria’s foreign reserves dropped to $29.7bn on December 3, 2015, as the CBN battles to defend the naira and avoid a devaluation of the local currency. The naira has been fixed at N197-N199 per dollar since March 2015.
By Dike Onwuamaeze