One British Pound Sells Above N1,000 as Naira Loses More Value to 12 Foreign Currencies
- The Central Bank of Nigeria's decision to float the Naira in obedience to President Bola Tinubu's order is taking a serious toll
- Since implementation, the Naira has significantly dropped in value against major currencies in the world, including African currencies like the CFA
- One British pound is selling at Nigerian banks for over N1,000, while the dollar is approaching N900 at the black market
The Nigerian currency, the Naira, has continued its struggle against foreign currencies since the commencement of the Naira float regime.
You will recall that on June 14, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) instructed banks to sell forex freely at market-determined rates, ultimately ending the multiple exchange rates regime.
This is per Tinubu's inaugural speech at Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday, May 29, 2023, where he asked CBN to work towards a unified exchange rate.
Source: UGC
Naira to dollar exchange rate
The CBN's latest data for Wednesday, July 19, 2023, shows that since the commencement of the naira float one month ago, the Naira has dropped massively against the US dollar, British Pound, and the Euro.
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Naira also depreciated against currencies such as the CFA Franc, the Chinese Yuan/Renminbi (CNY), the Swiss Franc, the South African Rand, and the UAE Riyal.
According to the CBN, on Wednesday, one US dollar was sold at N790.51, representing a massive 70.65% increase compared to the N463.38/$ it was sold for before the naira float decision.
The Naira has also lost 74.95% of its value against the British Pound sterling, with the exchange rate increasing from N582.1443/£1 on June 9, 2023, to N1,019.0464/£1 on Wednesday, July 19.
The most significant drop in value for the Naira among the three major currencies occurred with the Euro, as it lost a massive 77.33% of its value, now exchanging at N884.8969/€1 compared to the N499.47/€1 quoted by the CBN on June 9th.
How much value naira has lost since CBN naira float
Here is a breakdown of how much value the Naira has lost against 12 foreign currencies one month after the CBN decided to float the Naira.
| Currency | Naira exchange rate(6/9/2023) | Naira exchange rate(7/19/2023) | %change drop in value |
| US dollar | N463.38 | N790.51 | 70.65% |
| Pounds Sterling | N582.14 | N1019.04 | 74.95% |
| Euro | N499.47 | N884.89 | 77.33% |
| Swiss Franc | N513.953 | N919.83 | 78.71% |
| Yen | N3.32 | N5.66 | 70.32% |
| CFA | N0.756 | N1.325 | 75.18% |
| West African Unit of Account | N614.72 | N1046.7 | 70.14% |
| Yuan/Renminbi | N64.99 | N109.36 | 68.51% |
| Riyal | N123.54 | N210.71 | 70.65% |
| South African Rand | N24.74 | N44.07 | 78.10% |
| Danish Krona | N67.02 | N118.72 | 77.05% |
| SDR | N616.34 | N1071.45 | 73.61% |
CBN speaks on relationship between e-naira and bank
In another report, the CBN explained that the e-naira was not introduced to compete with Deposit Money Banks.
Angaye, at the University of Abuja, said e-naira’s benefit does not include replacing the existing payment system infrastructure.
He highlighted some of the importance to include; deepening the financial and payment systems, addressing challenges in the payment system infrastructure and complementing what is already on the ground.
Source: Legit.ng
