Naira Slides To 555/dollar In Parallel Market

The naira lost steam at the parallel market on Monday, sliding to 555 per dollar.

The local currency had crashed to 540/dollar on Friday, after trading at 535/dollar on Thursday.

After tumbling to 575/dollar recently, the local currency began a gradual uptick in recent weeks peaking at 530/dollar last week.

Operators in the parallel market, who spoke to our correspondent on Monday, said the local currency was bought and sold at 550/dollar and 555/dollar respectively.

An operator in the black market attributed the fall to an increase in demand for the greenback.

At the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Investor & Exporter Window, the naira fell by 0.16 per cent to close at 415.07/dollar after reaching a new high of N445.75.

The CBN however maintained 411.63/dollar as the official rate on its website.

According to local currency traders, lack of adequate liquidity in the retail end of the market is responsible for the naira crash.

“It is a sign we need to meet the demand for dollar in the market, this constitutes a major conflict in activities in the market,” a local operator who chose to speak on condition of anonymity, said.