Nigerian Currency Naira Plunges to New Low, Speculators Blamed

The parallel market exchange rate of the Nigerian currency (Naira) against the US dollar recently reached a new low of N710 per dollar. Nigerians shifting their savings from naira to dollars are fueling the currency’s fast decline. However, despite the naira’s continued decline in the parallel market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) maintains that the naira’s official exchange rate against the dollar remains about N424 per $1. Osita Navanisobi, CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, blamed gamblers for the currency’s recent collapse. According to Navanisobi, central bank measures such as the Naira for Dollar stimulus program and the RT200 FX program are already assisting Nigeria in resolving its long-standing issue of foreign currency exchange shortages. Fixing the country’s foreign exchange helps to stabilize the naira’s rate of exchange. However, the CBN’s Naira for Dollar transfer incentive program, which was started in March 2021, has failed to assist curb devaluation. According to the study, the naira had depreciated by more than 25% against the dollar at the time. Naira’s Depreciation Driven By Cryptocurrency Trading Additionally, claiming that central bank initiatives were effective, Navanisobi stated that they should assist Nigerians to “shore up the value of the naira.” In the interim, Aminu Gwadabe, head of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), says that cryptocurrency trading migh...