Nigeria’s currency has hit a record low on the black market as it exchanged for N1,000 to the dollar on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.
This is according to the Bureau De Change operators on Tuesday amid the unmet foreign-currency demand on the official market and speculation adding to downward pressure.
The traders put the buying price of the dollar at N900 and the selling price at N1000 which put the margin profit at N10.
This represents the depreciation of N7 or 0.7% from the N993 per dollar it traded on Monday.
The last time the naira hit its lowest was on August 10, 2023, when it exchanged at N99r per dollar.
Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer has struggled to get to grips with huge dollar shortages and a myriad of exchange rates that have stymied much-needed investment in the country.
A senior economist at Tellimer, Patrick Curran on the development said; “Rampant FX shortages and a plunging parallel exchange rate are the latest signs of trouble.”
“Decisive monetary tightening and FX float are needed but a leadership vacuum at the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) has hampered policy response,” Curran added.
Meanwhile, Olayemi Cardoso has been confirmed by the Senate as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Cardoso’s appointment is one of a number of changes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has undertaken as part of an ambitious reform track since taking office in May.
The central bank has not intervened by selling dollars on the official market for three weeks, one trader said, helping to accelerate the currency’s slide on the parallel market as excess foreign-currency demand has been funnelled there.
One of the key challenges for the new central bank governor will be to boost dollar liquidity to help stabilise the currency.