The Naira, Nigeria’s legal tender, Friday plunged to N1,700/$ at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.
The Nigerian currency, at the end of trading hours, depreciated by 1.49 percent compared to the N1,675/$ traded on Thursday.
The N1,700 per dollar is the lowest the Naira has depreciated since February 19, when it recorded a low of N1,730/$.
Currency traders, also known as street traders, in Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the local currency at N1,680/$ and the selling rate at N1,700/$ — leaving a profit margin of N20.
At the official window, the local currency appreciated by 2.24 percent from N1,576.1/$ on Thursday to trade at N1,540.78 on Friday.
FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the official window, showed that a Dollar was sold as high as N1,691 and at a low rate of N1,530. during trading hours.
At the parallel market on Monday, the Naira depreciated to N1,665/$ from N1,663 on September 20.
Maintaining the depreciation streak, the local currency fell further to N1,670 and N1,680 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
However, the Naira rebounded to N1,675 on Thursday.
At the official FX market, the local currency depreciated to N1,562.66 on Monday — from N1,541.52 on September 20.
Subsequently, the Naira further depreciated to N1,658.48 on Tuesday and N1,667.72 on Wednesday, before appreciating to N1,576.1 on Thursday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on January 29, said it had begun implementing a comprehensive plan to improve liquidity in the Nigerian FX markets in the short, medium, and long term.
The apex bank said the FX reforms were designed to streamline and harmonise multiple exchange rates, promote transparency, and lessen the likelihood of arbitrage opportunities.
Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, on September 25, said the multiple interest rate hikes had restored confidence in the Naira.
