The naira hit a record low of 325 to the dollar at the parallel market on Thursday as desperate importers scrambled for dollars to meet their obligations overseas.
The local currency had closed at 318 against the greenback on Wednesday, after hitting 313.5 and 310 on Tuesday and Monday, respectively.
“The dollar is falling because importers need forex to bring in their goods. They cannot keep on folding their arms because there is scarcity; they must keep buying; the only thing is that the quantity may reduce,” a forex dealer told our correspondent under condition of anonymity.
The CBN has left the official exchange rate unchanged at N197 to the dollar on its official interbank window.
“We see the naira falling further in coming days if the central bank fails to lift the dollar restriction,” the Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, said.
Tumbling global oil prices have battered Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy, with external reserves down to an 11-year low at $27.89bn on February 9, Reuters reported.
President Muhammadu Buhari is concerned that further depreciation will hurt poor Nigerians, but the CBN’s refusal to revise the pegged exchange rate has widened a chasm between official rate and the parallel market.
Last month, the central bank halted dollar sales to the BDC operators and allowed commercial banks to accept dollar deposits, in a failed effort to shore up dwindling foreign reserves.
Around 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings come from crude oil exports, but mismanagement of the refineries means the country must also import expensive refined fuel.
The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said it was high time the CBN came up with a forex policy that would address the forex crisis confronting the nation.
In an economic note released on Thursday, Rewane said, “Nigerians are perplexed at the endless slide of their currency, which is now trading at N325/$, the lowest point ever.“This is happening even when the oil price is up at $31pb.
The debate as whether to devalue the naira is not the real issue. The discourse should be whether we need an exchange rate policy or not. The absence of a policy is a recipe for economic anarchy and a race to the bottom.”
