TheNewsGuru

Tag: Dollar

  • We’ll release more forex to further weaken Dollar against Naira – CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Sunday reiterated its determination to sustain the provision of foreign exchange (forex) with a view to ensuring liquidity in the market and enhance accessibility and affordability for genuine end users.

    The apex bank’s acting Director, Corporate Communications; Mr Isaac Okorafor in a statement on Sunday said the bank wants to disabuse the notion by market speculators that it wouldn’t be able to sustain its forex intervention.

    He said that the bank would again, early this week, inject more foreign exchange into the market, leading to a further weakening of the dollar.

    “This is in addition to the further increase in the sale of dollars to the Bureau de change operators from 8,000 dollars to 10,000 dollars per week,’’ he said

    Okorafor warned commercial banks and other dealers to desist from sabotaging the efforts aimed at making life easier for foreign exchange end users.

    According to Okorafor, the CBN had received complaints from customers over frustrations in getting foreign exchange for invisible items like tuition fee, medicals, personal and basic travel allowance.

    The Bank urged the general public to report it to any bank that failed to meet customers’ needs after due documentation.

    It once again reiterated its determination to deal with any official or institution found to be sabotaging the operations of foreign exchange market in whatever guise.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Naira closed at N394 to a dollar on Friday, which translated to 10 per cent depreciation of what was recorded earlier in the week.

    The depreciation was attributed to the alleged hoarding of forex by banks rather than selling to genuine customers.

    Analyst believe that with the twice weekly sale to BDCs up to 20,000 dollars, the Naira is likely to appreciate in the coming week.

     

  • Again, Naira appreciates against dollar, now exchanges for N460/1$

    The Naira on Friday sustained its gains against the dollar as liquidity boost by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had forced a crash in the price of the greenback

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Naira exchanged at N460 to a dollar at the parallel market, gaining 40 points from N500 it recorded on Thursday.

    However, the Pound Sterling and Euro traded at N575 and N480 respectively.

    At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira closed at N399 to a dollar (CBN controlled price), while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N610 and N520 respectively.

    Trading at the interbank window saw the Naira close at N305.50 to a dollar.

    Traders at the market are however full of hopes that the Naira will sell for less than N400 to a dollar if the boost in liquidity by the CBN is sustained.

    Meanwhile, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said that currency speculators were expected to lose billions of Naira to the new forex policy.

    Gwadabe said that speculators were already overwhelmed by the policy as they were taken by surprise by the move of the apex bank.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the new CBN policy directing banks to sell forex for school fees, medicals and other allowances was already impacting positively at the market.

     

    NAN

  • Naira appreciates at black market, now exchanges for N501/1$

    Naira appreciates at black market, now exchanges for N501/1$

     

    The central bank of Nigeria (CBN) new foreign exchange policy actions introduced has made visible impact on the exchange rate at the black market.

    The dollar tumbled from N525/$ to N501 on Wednesday since the recent intervention announced on Monday by the apex bank.

    Also, the buy rate for the greenback crashed on the parallel market yesterday to below N490 to the dollar, as foreign currency speculators who had held on to the dollar for several weeks rushed to sell off the currency in the wake of renewed confidence in the CBN’s ability to meet demand on the interbank market.

    Global ratings agency, Fitch Ratings on Wednesday said the new policy actions announced by the CBN, might ease some of the severe foreign currency liquidity pressure faced by banks in the country.

    Fitch said that the most important aspect of the CBN’s announcement was the plan to normalise the FX interbank market.

    It said in a statement that the intention of the CBN was to clear the backlog of overdue foreign currency obligations owed by banks to international creditors.

     

  • Again, Naira falls, hits N520/$1

    The naira tumbled to N520 against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Monday as scarcity of the greenback continued to keep the exchange rate in a free fall mode.

    The naira had closed at 516/dollar on Friday, after hitting 510/dollar and 507/dollar last Thursday and Tuesday, respectively.

    Experts said demand for dollar for school fees payment overseas as well as Personal Travel Allowance by intending travellers was taking a toll on the exchange rate at the parallel market.

    This came just as retail currency traders tried to digest the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new decision to sell dollars to retail users through commercial banks, Reuters reported.

    The CBN is planning to sell $1m weekly to each of the country’s 21 commercial banks at a rate of N375 to clear a backlog of demand for retail users and try to narrow the premium between the official and black market rates.

    Retail currency users buy dollars from licensed Bureaux de Change operators. However, due to the CBN’s inability to meet dollar demand, the BDCs have tended to source dollars from private sources and resell at a much higher margin, fuelling the black market.

    Forex traders told Reuters that some banks had compiled a list of bids from customers awaiting dollars.

    The CBN has been selling dollars at N305 to clear a backlog of demand from manufacturing, agriculture and airline companies, hoping also to help drag the country out of its worst recession in 25 years.

    Experts are divided over the outlook for the naira this year. Some experts have said the naira may hit between 520/dollar and 1000/dollar at the parallel market this year unless the CBN reviews its forex policy.

     

  • Naira depreciates further against dollar, now exchanges for N506/$1

    Naira depreciates further against dollar, now exchanges for N506/$1

    The Naira reached its climax in its drop of value against the dollar on Friday (today) as it now exchanges for N506 to a dollar as against its initial exchange rate of N500 to a dollar recorded on Thursday.

    The free fall of the Naira against the Dollar appears unstoppable as the Nigerian currency traded for N506 to $1 down from N500 recorded on Thursday, February 9, 2017.

    Against the British Pounds Sterling and the European Euro, the Nigerian Naira weakened to N617 and N531 respectively down from the N615 and N530 recorded the previous day.

    However, on the official market, it remained at N305.25 to dollar, where it has been trading since last August.

    The latest crash of the Naira is the worse in the History of the country.

    The Head of Africa Research, Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, blamed the fall on scarcity of foreign currency in circulation. She said: “Despite rising FX reserves, it’s the amount of the FX that is supplied that matters. The parallel market, by its nature, is particularly sensitive to demand-supply imbalances, and has a tendency to overshoot,”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria sold $660m in three and five-month currency forwards at an auction aimed at clearing a backlog of dollar demand but traders stated it was not enough to satisfy the market.

  • Foreign exchange inflows into Nigeria falls in 2016

    Foreign exchange inflows into Nigeria falls in 2016

    The total Foreign Exchange inflows into Nigeria falls at 46.86 per cent in 2016, the lowest value since the series started in 2007, a new set of data released on Wednesday by the statistics office.

    The report shows that Nigeria receives capital importation totaling 5.12 billion Dollars in 2016 lower than 9.64 billion Dollars inflow in 2015.

    The decline cuts across direct, portfolio and other investments into Africa’s largest economy in 2016 when the economy went into a recession and the value of the local currency became lower than 40 percent.

    The report says that the total portfolio investment was down by 69.81 percent but the Foreign Direct Investments was 27.83 per cent between 2015 and 2016.

    Meanwhile, other investments portfolio increased by a mere 3.48% in 2016 was due to increase in loans.

     

  • Naira exchanges for N500 to $1

     

    The Naira on Monday continued its free fall against the United States Dollars at the parallel market as it exchanged for 500 from 498 that it sold for over the weekend.

    The currency thus crossed the critical threshold analysts had predicted.

    At the official market, the local unit closed at 305/dollar, the level it has traded at since August last year.

    The CBN had two weeks ago commenced sales of dollars to the BDC operators through Travelex, following a three-week break during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

    On Friday, the naira closed at 498/dollar at the black market, broadly unchanged from 497/dollar it recorded the previous weekend.

    “Confidence is gradually returning to the forex market as a result of improved foreign exchange reserves, dollar sales by international money transfer agents and the central bank assurance it will continue to support the local currency,” one trader told Reuters.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the CBN as at last Tuesday said it would continue to provide hard currency, with priority given to manufacturing industries that need to import raw materials and spare parts.

     

  • Dollar scarcity: Be more creative to earn more, presidency tells Nigerians

    Presidency yesterday urged Nigerians to be more creative in the face of the biting economic recession to attract more foreign exchange as a means of ending the Dollar scarcity in the country.

    It also called for improved peace and tranquility in the Niger Delta region to boost the oil production which would in turn generate more returns in form of foreign earnings for the country.

    This was even as it also stated that Nigeria’s involvement in The Gambia’s political impasse was not to intimidate the out-going President, Yahya Jammeh but by its action playing a leadership role.

    The position of the presidency was made through the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu on “Politics Today”, a Programme of the Channels Television, monitored in Abuja.

    Speaking against the background of a protest by some Nigerians in Abuja on Friday who called for immediate action to curb the disparity between Naira and US Dollar, Shehu said that but for some measures already taken by the government, the situation would have been worse than it is presently.

    Notably, Naira is presently at its worse times, chasing the US Dollar at N500 per Dollar.

    Shehu said: “Unfortunately, I am not an expert in these matters but to my layman’s understanding, we have a Dollar crisis.

    Dollar inflow into Nigeria is short. Whatever that is short in terms of supply creates demand in high proportions. It would have been worse if the government has not taken quite a number of measures including the restriction of our scares foreign exchanges to sectors that are very critical, that create jobs, that generate income to the country.

    “The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN had already dismissed those protests. In a system, no matter how rotten it is, it produces beneficiaries. People are happy with the old order, when people will go, take US Dollar form the CBN, and go to the Bureau De Change. Now, CBN doesn’t sell Dollars. It is the commercial banks that sell.

    What I think needs to be done is that beyond the government, all of us as Nigerians have a responsibility. What do we do? Let us be more creative, try to export more, try to produce local goods that sell abroad, so that more Dollars would come.

    Let us continue to stabilize the ongoing situation in the Niger Delta so that earnings from the oil sector are not disrupted. When we have more Dollars coming in, they will sell cheaper.”

    On the Gambian political crisis, the Presidential spokesman said that though the presidency was still awaiting the official outcome of the mediation led by President Buhari as the Chief Mediator of ECOWAS in the matter, hopes were high that the matter would be amicably resolved between outgoing President Jammeh and the President-Elect, Adama Barrow.

  • Naira drops further against dollar at parallel market

    The Naira on Friday depreciated further at the parallel market as dollar scarcity worsened.

    The Naira may be seeing its worst times as the CBN will be resuming dollar sales to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators next week.

    The Nigerian currency exchanged at N497 to a dollar at the parallel market, losing two points from Thursdays posting; while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N597 and 515 respectively.

    At the BDC window, the Naira was sold at N399 to a dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N600 and N515, respectively.

    Trading at the interbank market window saw the Naira closed at N305.00 to a dollar.

    Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), expressed the hope that the Naira would bounce back next week. Gwadabe said that the CBN would be selling about 25 million dollars to BDCs next week and this would definitely help in reducing liquidity challenge in the Market.

    He urged Nigerians not to panic as the CBN was working closely with the BDCs to ensure that the Naira recovers quickly.

     

    NAN

  • Naira appreciates marginally, now exchanges for N490/$1

     

    The Naira on Monday appreciated at the parallel market after about two weeks of losses.

    The currency gained 3 points to exchange at N490, from N493 it posted last Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N600 and N506, respectively.

    At the Bureau De Change window, the Naira closed at N399, CBN rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N599 and N510, respectively.

    Trading on the floor of the inter-bank market saw the Naira stable at N305.00.

    Traders at the market linked the appreciation of the Naira to slow activities at the market.

    The Naira had exchanged around N490 in spite of speculations that it would hit the N500 to a dollar mark.

     

     

    NAN