Nigeria’s Dollar Crisis Diminishes Naira to Rock bottom Since 2017

Nigerian naira weakened to the lowest in over three years in the parallel market due to increased demand for dollars amid foreign-currency shortages.

The local unit depreciated to 495 per dollar on Friday, lowest since February 23, 2017, widening the gap with the official rate of 379.5 to over 30%, according to abokifx.com, a website that collates parallel market rates in Lagos. The currency traded in the interbank market at 389.74 as of 4:54 p.m. in Lagos

The parallel market at 495 to a U.S dollar is 30% weaker than the official rate of 379.5 and according to the Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed government is worried about the widening gap.

The gap in the exchanges rates in the parallel and official markets is because of decline in revenue from oil, Nigeria’s main export, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed was reported to have said.

The government is concerned about the spread and is taking steps to address the issue of scarcity, but “the progress is not as much as we hoped.”

“We hope to get to an even level very soon so the impact of the exchange rate will become moderated,” she said on Friday.

There is a diversion of inflows away from official channels to the parallel market due to the gap in rates, Murega Mungai, trading desk manager for Aza Finance said in a note Thursday. The market spread has created arbitrage opportunities for recipients of remittances such as exporters and private individuals.

Pent up demand in the foreign exchange market is not unprecedented given increase purchase of items in preparation for seasonal festivities, Nkemdilim Nwadialor, analyst at Tellimer markets said. “This has been compounded by the fact that all through the year, we have had dollar shortage,” she said.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, currently at $35.4 billion has dropped about 3% since May when it climbed to 36.6 billion, after picking up from April lows when it was hit by fall in crude prices and coronavirus pandemic.