Naira falls to N707/$1 at black market, as forex scarcity persists

On Wednesday, the parallel foreign exchange market saw a decline in the value of the Nigerian naira, falling to N707 per dollar.

In comparison to the N658 it traded for last week, the figure represents a N42 or 7.45% depreciation, further eroding its value against the US dollar.

Street traders said the free fall resulted from the lingering foreign exchange (FX) supply constraints.

With a profit margin of N17, the traders put the buying price at N690 and the selling price at N707.

This is even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has often maintained that the parallel market is not the true reflection of the naira.

The difficulties getting dollars from the official market, make the option of the black market an important source to access forex.

Meanwhile, at the official market, FMDQ securities reports that Naira closed Wednesday trading at N436.50 to a dollar reversing the 0.10 per cent gain recorded on Tuesday.

The depreciation of the local currency comes as forex supply to the investors and importers window dropped to $65.95 million from $83.71million recorded on Monday.

The latest exchange rates imply that the disparity between the black and official markets now stands at N270.5.