The naira, which began trading at around 283/$1 at the inter-bank market on Thursday, July 14, depreciated to 284/$1 today, July 15.
“This is not the best of times for us as the dollar scarcity has pushed most of my colleagues have been forced to change their line of business.
“We are running out of dollar and until the CBN begins to sell forex that is when we can support the economy.”
The president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, said the volatility at the parallel market this week could be traced to the activities of currency speculators.
Gwadabe said: “A huge amount of demand is going to the parallel market. People can’t even get $1,000 for their Personal Travel Allowance; banks said they didn’t have. I think there is a need for the CBN to do something about the forex distribution channel. I believe it is only the BDCs that can do the distribution effectively.
“As much as possible, we want to be patriotic and work with the regulators as BDC operators. The parallel market operators are happy with this spike. It is high time the CBN checkmated this spike. The BDCs can be empowered by giving them access to the Diaspora remittances or the CBN window.”
In 2016, the naira has lost 29.61% of its value on the official market, following the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow for a floating foreign exchange regime.
However, the CBN remains optimistic that the naira would eventually settle at 250 to the dollar at the interbank market.
The local currency has been on the downward swing following a plunge in crude oil prices and a consequent decline in Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
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