This indicates a loss of 3.93 per cent fall or N58 from the
N1,476.13/$ the national currency closed last week Friday, according to FMDQ
Exchange, a platform that publishes official foreign exchange trading in the
country.
Monday’s official rate became the worst official exchange
rate since the Central Bank of Nigeria floated the national currency in June
2023.
However, at the parallel market on Monday, the naira traded
between the rate of N1,480 and N1,490. It appears the local currency has been
trading higher at the parallel market in recent times especially since the FMDQ
reviewed the methodology it uses to calculate the official exchange rate.
The change in the methodology for the calculation of the
official exchange rate had led to the depreciation of the naira from over
900/dollar to over 1,400/dollar.
Sometime in December, the naira closed above the N1000/$ on
the official window. On December 8, the naira first fell to an all-time low of
N1,099.05/$. On December 28, 2023, it closed at N1043.09/$, and N1035.12/$ on
January 3, 2024. On January 9, 2024, it closed at N1089.51/$ and N1082.32/$ on
January 10, 2024. It had also fallen to
an all-time-low of N1348.63/$ on January 30, 2024, when the FMDQ reviewed its
methodology for the calculation of the official exchange rate.
Meanwhile, dollar sales by banks dropped by 56.58 per cent
to $253.77 million on Friday from the peak of $584.53 million on Monday, the
first trading day after the CBN ordered banks to sell excess dollars in the
official FX market.
Cumulatively, commercial banks sold a total of $1.97bn in
one week.
Currency traders in Abuja, also known as Bureau De Change
operators, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N1,480 and the selling
price at N1,503, leaving a profit margin of N23.
Mallam Yahu, a BDC operator in Wuse, said, “We currently buy
between the rate of N1,480 and N1,490,
and we sell at N1,500 and N1,503.”
Another seller, simply identified as Yahaya Abdul, however
said he could not buy beyond the rate of N1,460.