ABCON

Naira’s depreciation: We’re waiting for CBN intervention — Bureau de change operators

Naira’s woes continue for the second week as legitimate operators of Bureau De Change, BDC, await the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention.

FMDQ data showed that the naira dipped to N1520.40 per dollar on Tuesday from N1478.11.

This represents N42.29 depreciation against the dollar in the official market compared to N1478.11 traded on Monday.

Similarly, in the parallel market section, the naira dropped to N1520 per dollar on Tuesday, compared to N1500 the previous day.

The combined data showed that the margin between official and parallel foreign exchange markets stood at N0.40 on Tuesday.

Speaking about the development, Mistila Dayyabu, a BDC operator at Wuse Zone 4, urged the Central Bank to resume its supply of FX to the retail end of the market as a solution to the naira fluctuations.

“The naira depreciated further to N1,520 per dollar from N1,500 on Monday. We are eagerly waiting for CBN to release additional FX intervention into the retail end of the market,” he said.

From February to April 8, 2024, the apex bank distributed FX three times to BDCs.

However, the naira returned to depreciation in mid-April. During that period, it dropped by 28 per cent against the dollar.