Naira goes lower as it trades N422 to the dollar in the official market

The Nigerian naira has hit another low by 2.6% to N422 per dollar, hitting an all-time low at the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange (NAFEX) rate — the default FX reference for official and legitimate transactions.

The sharp decline came days after Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo called the CBN to allow the naira to reflect the realities of the market.

Osinbajo had said the exchange rate is artificially low and deterring investors from bringing foreign exchange into the country.

“Prof. Osinbajo is not calling for the devaluation of the Naira. He has at all times argued against a willy-nilly devaluation of the Naira,” Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Vice-President had explained in a statement.

Checks on Thursday showed that the local currency, which opened trading at an indicative price of N413.50 to a dollar, dropped to N422 at the end of Thursday’s trading.

During intra-day trading, the naira traded as high as N436 per dollar on the spot while it sold for as low as N404/$1. On the future side (futures contracts), it was quoted as high as N446 and low as N419.88 to the dollar at the window.

“The rate is guided by the CBN — it is supposed to be flexible but not,” a banker said.

“When the market moves, it usually moves in a big way. I think he moved from N380 to N411 at a point.”

At the parallel market, the currency remained stable at N570 to a dollar.