One Pound Hits N745 as CBN Ban on Bureau De Change Operators Affect Availability
- Naira continues to trade weak against the United States dollar, Great Britain's pound, and the Euro, as the foreign currencies held on to their value
- Nigeria's foreign exchange parallel market has been banned from receiving forex from commercial banks over their financial infractions
- The ban on Bureau De Change operators have cut the supply of dollars, pounds and other foreign currency, hence, their appreciation against the naira
The naira opened weak against foreign currency, as the United States greenback, United Kingdom pound and Euro currency all continue to sell above N500 at the parallel market.
At the forex market today, the naira exchanged at N545 to $1, picking up from where it left off last week Friday, and more than 3% (N530) higher than what the Nigerian currency traded for last week Monday.
Naira losing fight against pound, euro
The pound opened the forex market higher than the N743 it sold for last week Friday after parallel market customers exchanged one pound for N745 on Monday.
Source: Getty Images
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This is a 0.3 percent difference day-on-day but depreciated by 3.2% when this morning's opener is compared to last week Monday's close of N722 to £1.
The naira's weak spot continued with the Euro earlier today, as the forex market saw the Nigerian currency exchanged for N636 to €1, at the same level as Friday.
But the naira has depreciated by more than 2% when the N636 to one euro is placed in contrast against last week Monday's N625.
Naira depreciating after ban on Bureau De Change operators
Nigeria's currency has been struggling to gain its value back over the years, but the recent embargo placed on Bureau De Change Operators have further worsened the state of the naira among global currencies.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had banned banks from conducting foreign exchange with Bureau De Change Operators, thereby, reducing the availability of dollar, pound and euro in the forex black market.
Emefiele accused the BDC operators of aiding money laundering and supporting other financial crimes that are against the principles of CBN and the objective of the BDC.
Naira to have a new sibling
The Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to create a digital partner for naira in a bid to lure Nigerians out of the cryptocurrency community.
The financial regulator said the digital currency, e-naira, will be distributed to interested users who will be registered through the use of code.
According to a secular by the CBN, the e-naira will not be an interest-bearing asset like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, and many other cryptocurrencies.
Source: Legit.ng
