Naira Watch
Naira recovers, as dollar rate falls amid complaints from MTN, others
The Naira closed the official market with a 0.11 per cent increase in value, as the Dollar rate settled at N462.25 kobo/$1 on Tuesday.
At the end of trading the previous day, the foreign exchange rate was N462.78/$1, indicating the price of the Dollar fell by N0.53 kobo in the official window.
The exchange rate between the Naira and the Dollar hovered as high as N466/$1 during intraday trading on Tuesday but fell as low as N460/$1 before breaking at N462.25 kobo/$1.
These were the prices investors and exporters bought the Dollar yesterday when they traded $98.84 million in foreign exchange.
This is a 0.49 per cent or $490,000 drop in foreign exchange transactions, as traders in the investors and exporters’ window had exchanged $99.33 million on Monday.
Investors were unhappy with the low supply of foreign exchange in the official market, as the lack of it means they have to approach the black market where the Dollar costs above N740.
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, stated in the company’s first quarter 2023 financial statements that the network provider faces operational challenges due to foreign exchange supply constraints and exchange rate volatility.
READ ALSO:Naira records mixed trading against US dollars
“supply chains were compounded by exchange rate volatility and the availability of foreign currency needed for capex,” Toriola said in the financial statement.
Recall that British Airways, Emirates Airlines and some foreign airlines suspended operations in Nigeria over the inability to access foreign exchange in the official market.
Emirates Airlines complained that the company is unable to repatriate its ticket sales in Nigeria due to insufficient forex supply and it is harming the firm.
The scarcity of Dollars resulted in foreign airlines’ trapped funds rising to $743.7 million in January 2023, from $662 million in December 2022.
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