One British pound now equals 620 naira
The naira tumbled to 620 against the British pound sterling at the parallel market on Thursday, even as the euro rose to N565.
The naira fell by 2.1 per cent against the pound from 607 on Wednesday, and by 1.4 per cent against the euro from 560.
The local currency was, however, stable against the dollar at the parallel market as it traded at 478/$1. It dropped from 475/$1 on Tuesday to 478/$1 on Wednesday.
In the Investors’ and Exporters’ forex window, the naira firmed to 385.50 against the greenback on Thursday from 386 on Wednesday as daily turnover rose to $205.84m from $32.88m on Wednesday, according to data obtained from FMDQ Group.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has kept the official exchange rate at N379/$1 since August, when the naira was devalued for the second time this year from 360 per dollar. It was first devalued to 360 in March from 306.
The nation’s forex reserves stood at $35.54bn as of November 17, down from $35.69bn on October 28, according to the CBN.
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr Johnson Chukwu, had told our correspondent on Monday that forex demand pressures were coming from end-users and those whose obligations had matured and in need of forex to meet the obligations.
“There is a lot of unmet demand,” Chukwu had said, adding that pressure was mounting even as the CBN continued to intervene in the market.
