By Sami Tunji
The naira has appreciated by 0.68 per cent against the United States dollar on the Investor & Exporter forex window.
The local currency closed at N763/$ on Tuesday, compared to N768.17/$ at the close of trading on Monday.
There was no trading on Wednesday owing to the two-day public holiday to mark the Sallah celebration.
According to figures obtained from the FMDQ, the trading, which commenced at N760.5/$ on Tuesday, reached a high of N841/$ and a low of N467/$ before closing at N763/$.
The trade also recorded an improved turnover of $245.65m on Tuesday from $198.13m at the close of trading on Monday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria earlier directed Deposit Money Banks to remove the rate cap on the naira at the I&E window to allow for a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other global currencies.
Before the announcement, the naira had closed at the I&E window at 471.67/$, while the parallel market recorded 740/$.
A professor of Economics at Babcock University and former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Segun Ajibola, earlier described the former multiple exchange rate regime as a chess pool of corruption.
He said sources of foreign exchange such as non-oil exports, remittances, and foreign direct investments needed to be expanded, in addition to taking maximum advantage of OPEC quota on crude oil exportation.
He said the pressure on the official and unofficial markets could simmer down while the supply of foreign exchange picked up.
He said, “By and large, the two rates will collapse, and a new equilibrium rate of exchange achieved in the market. That is, the desired unified exchange rate.”
The PUNCH recently reported that the CBN and the Nigeria Customs Service have taken the ongoing foreign exchange reforms to the maritime sector with a 40 per cent increase in the exchange rate used for calculating import duty.
The NCS raised the exchange rate used for the calculation of import duty from N422.30/dollar to N589/dollar.
Source: The Punch
