After appreciating against the dollar for two days in a row; Wednesday and Thursday; the naira on Friday fell to a record low against the greenback at the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) window, closing at N803.90/$1, compared with N748.28 per dollar on the previous day, data obtained from FMDQ Exchange shows.
Traders said insufficient supply of forex at the I&W window continues to put pressure on the exchange rate. Naira volatility has not abated since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) abolished its currency peg and adopted the willing buyer/willing seller ar- rangement on June 14, thus resulting in the unification of its multiple exchange rates.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported traders as saying that the CBN is intervening in the markets to prevent sharper losses in the local currency. On the same day, the apex bank issued a circular announcing that the naira will now be a payout option for receipt of proceeds of international money transfers.
It stated that all recipients of diaspora remittances through its 62 approved International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), “shall henceforth have the option of receiving naira payment in addition to USD and eNaira as payout options.” The CBN, however, emphasised that IMTOs are required to pay out the proceeds using the, “Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) window rate as the anchor rate on the day of the transaction.”
