Bankers in search of dollars go after parties’ delegates, as Naira crashes to new low

The value of the Nigerian currency, Naira dropped to a new low at both the official and unofficial markets as reports say bankers have now hit the streets in search of dollars.

It is believed that a lot of dollars is in the hands of many Nigerians following the end of political parties’ primaries

At the official market, Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed amid forex scarcity that Naira fell by N2.25 or 0.54 per cent against the US Dollar at the official market to close at N422.50/$1 compared with the N420.50/$1 it was sold on Wednesday.

One of the factors that contributed to the downfall of the Nigerian Naira at the market window yesterday was the inability of FX traders to meet the demand of their customers.

Data showed transactions worth $153.71 million was carried out compared to $82.60 million traded the previous day.

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This indicated that the demand for dollars rose by 86.1 per cent or $71.11 million at the official market which put pressure on the domestic currency.

Naira’s value also dropped at the Peer-to-Peer market as news filters in that there is an increase in dollar demand.

At the end of trading, Naira lost N5 or 0.82 per cent to the Dollar on Thursday to trade at N615/$1 compared to the N610/$1 it recorded in the previous session.

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