Dollar To Hit N500 As CBN Gov Criticises ‘Black Market Rate’
The naira has slipped to N487 against the dollar on Wednesday despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s criticism of the black market rate.
The naira opened on Wednesday at N483, but the rates in the unofficial window fell as a result of weak supply. The N483 to a dollar rate is far higher than the N385.5 which was used at the Investors and Export Window.
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The I&E Window witnessed an increase of 0.13 per cent to N385.5, from the N386.29 recorded on Tuesday.
The CBN had on Tuesday described the parallel market as a place of corruption because those who play in that space offer bribes to procure foreign exchange due to paucity of relevant documents needed to access it through the Investment and Export window at N380/$1.
He added that Nigeria depreciated the naira by 24 per cent, much lower than most developed nations.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele had said, “We do not agree that the determining factor for our currency should be based on a market that is tainted, where people go to offer bribes.
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“The black market is illegal where people do not provide documentation to support transactions. It is unfortunate and unfair for analysts to say Nigeria’s exchange rate is at 480 per dollar.”
Low dollar liquidity at the cheaper official windows has accelerated the need for investors and exporters to access the dollar from the Bureau de Change operators which is far more expensive.
The International Monetary Fund had tasked the apex bank to unify the naira at the different markets, a criterial that was used to secure the $3.4bn from the Washington based lender.
