The Nigerian naira faced further depreciation against the US dollar, closing at 950 naira per dollar in the parallel market, a decline from its previous close at 930 naira per dollar.
Bureau de Change (BDC) operators reported that the naira, which had ended trading at 930 naira per dollar on Tuesday, was being bought and sold at rates of 935 naira per dollar and 950 naira per dollar on Wednesday.
At the Investor & Exporter forex window, the official trading platform, the naira closed at 758.12 naira per dollar on Wednesday, down from 742.10 naira per dollar on the previous day, according to data from the FMDQ.
Yusuf Kareem, a BDC operator, explained, “We started the day with the exchange rate at 930 naira per dollar and it closed at 950 naira per dollar by evening. The naira has become scarce, and we are uncertain about the reasons behind it.”
Another BDC operator, Sanusi Ibrahim, noted that the naira was being bought and sold at rates of 935 naira per dollar and 950 naira per dollar that day, expressing uncertainty about what might happen in the coming days.
The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to grant BDC operators digital autonomy to help achieve exchange rate convergence. ABCON President Dr. Aminu Gwadabe believes this move would promote rate stability, reduce market volatility, and support economic growth.
ABCON had previously led its members to achieve rate convergence in various instances, but the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 disrupted these efforts. Granting digital autonomy to BDC operators would facilitate true market rate discovery, align with government foreign exchange policies, and enhance monitoring of BDC transactions for regulatory compliance.
