Nigerian Naira Drops Further, Exchanges For N803/$1 At Official Window.

The Nigerian Naira on Friday plunged against the US Dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) arm of the foreign exchange (FX) market as pressure returned on forex operations.

After appreciating against the dollar for two days in a row, the Naira on Friday decreased by 7.72 per cent compared with N746.28, which it exchanged for the dollar on Thursday.

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The open indicative rate closed at N763.36 to one dollar on Friday. While a spot exchange rate of N829 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N803.90.

The Naira sold for as low as N689.34 to the dollar within the day’s trading, and on Friday, $46.90 million was traded at the investors’ and exporters’ window.

Bloomberg had reported traders saying that the CBN is intervening in the markets to prevent sharper losses in the local currency. On the same day, the apex bank issued a circular announcing that the Naira would now be a payout option for receiving proceeds from international money transfers.

The report stated that all recipients of diaspora remittances through its 62 approved International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) “shall henceforth have the option of receiving naira payment in addition to USD and eNaira as payout options.”

The CBN, however, emphasised that IMTOs must pay out the proceeds using the “Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) window rate as the anchor rate on the day of the transaction.”

Recall that the CBN announced the unification of the forex window with other operational changes to the market in June.