By Abdulrahman Abdullahi
The Nigeria’s unit of exchange, Naira, at the weekend shed N2 in value against the dollar, dropping to N480/$1.
The new value of naira and the recent fall was recorded on Friday from N478/$1 on Thursday at the parallel market.
Data obtained from “Abokifx,” a website that tracks forex rates on the parallel market, shows that after falling to N487 per dollar in late November, the naira appreciated to N465/$1 during the Christmas festivities.
It, however, resumed its downward trend a fortnight ago, dropping to between N475 and N478 per dollar, due to an uptick in economic activity.
The naira was under pressure on the parallel market for most part of 2020 due to foreign exchange scarcity, occasioned by the slump in the price of oil (the commodity that accounts for about 90 per cent of Nigeria’s export earnings).
As part of its efforts to defend the local currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has in the last one year introduced several measures aimed at conserving the forex reserves.
The apex bank, has also stepped up measures to ensure compliance with its forex regulations.
