Naira Falls to 360 as Dollar Supply Dries Up

The Naira has collapsed to N360 to a United States dollar at  the parallel market on Wednesday as the supply of the greenback waned at the foreign exchange market.

The local currency had closed at N354 against the greenback on Tuesday.

The naira has been experiencing high volatility since the beginning of the week, as supply gap at the interbank forex market continues to weigh on the parallel market.

The naira, which closed at 348 against the greenback at the parallel market on Friday, dropped to 351 on Monday before plunging further to 354 on Tuesday.

Foreign exchange dealers, who linked the development to dollar scarcity, said inadequate liquidity in the forex market was making the naira to depreciate very fast.

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, said the volatility at the parallel market this week could be traced to the activities of currency speculators.

The naira had recorded relative stability against the dollar throughout last week, trading between 246 and 248 at the interbank market.

The ABCON president, however, said supply was still an issue, noting that currency speculators were taking advantage of the supply gap at the interbank market to fuel spike in the exchange rate at the parallel market.