The downward slide of the naira in the parallel market
appears not to end anytime soon, as the slump in crude oil prices, and pressure
on the foreign exchange market continues.
The local currency dropped to N425 to a dollar, its lowest
level in the parallel market since 2017, according to information gotten from
Aboki fx.
This indicates a depreciation of about 1.2%, when compared
to the N420 per dollar that it sold for on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
It is also coming against the backdrop of the slump of Bonny
light crude price to just over $14 per barrel, and the selling of Brent crude
at less than $20 per barrel on Tuesday.
The naira has been hitting new lows in the parallel market
and over the counter spots on declining volume, due to low dollar inflow. The
naira was quoted at a low of N388.92 to a dollar in the spot market on Tuesday.
The further crash of crude oil prices globally, as a result
of low demand and storage issues, has put further pressure on the already
strained foreign exchange market.
It was also reported that the naira weakened in the forward
market, as the one-year dollar/naira non-deliverable forwards were 498.5 points
on Tuesday, as against 492.4 on Monday.
The increased demand for US dollar is caused by importers
with past-due obligations scrambling for hard currency and speculators who are
buying to hedge against the future, while providers of foreign exchange, like
foreign investors and the ones from foreign remittances, have either exited or
declined drastically as a result of the global lockdown.
This is compounded by the suspension of dollar sales to
Bureau de Change operators.
