The Nigerian naira has been selling at N1,700 against $1 in the black market for at least five days, FIJ can confirm.
Hussaini, a Bureau de Change (BDC) operator in Ikorodu, Lagos, told FIJ on Thursday morning that the currency crossed the N1,700 borderline at the beginning of the week.
He said while the rates have been fluctuating, they have not dropped below the N1,700 rate. “The naira has been fluctuating against the dollar, so a dollar at the moment is N1,730,” he told FIJ on Thursday.
“Yesterday, I sold it at N1,725 but this is the lowest it has been. Since the beginning of the weekend, I have not sold it for less than N1,700.”
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He also said that individuals willing to sell the dollar could do so at the rate of N1,720.
The naira has crossed an all-time devaluation point as inflation continues to rise and purchasing basic amenities becomes more difficult. A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the inflation rate in September increased by 0.55%.
There were more reports of BDCs selling the naira not lower than N1,700/$1 on Thursday.
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Naira Rates, an unofficial naira exchange rate monitor, showed N1,689/$1 on Thursday morning and N1,693/$1 on Wednesday morning.
A September financial report by Bloomberg showed that the naira was among the 10 worst-performing currencies in the world. It ranked the naira alongside the Angolan kwanza and the Zambian kwacha.
This was despite President Bola Tinubu’s claim that the naira had risen to the ranks of best-performing currencies globally.
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