The naira fell to new lows at the parallel market yesterday, weakening to N1,030 per dollar from N1,025/$1 on Tuesday, currency dealers said. Fx dealers, who spoke with New Telegraph, said that the naira was likely to weaken further as dollar scarcity is getting worse.

The local currency also closed weaker at N776.80 per dollar at the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) window yesterday, compared with N770.69/$1 at which it opened, data obtained from FMDQ Exchange shows.

Analysts note that with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data showing that the country’s external reserves fell to a two-year low of $33.2 billion as of October 6, 2023, currency speculators are likely to continue betting against the naira in the near to medium term.

Naira volatility has not abated since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) abolished its currency peg and adopted the willing buyer/ willing seller arrangement on June 14, thus resulting in the unification of its multiple exchange rates.

In a recent report, Fitch Ratings said it expected the naira to weaken further given the widening gap be- tween the official and parallel market exchange rates of the local currency, which according to the agency, indicates the government’s lack of capacity to stabilize the exchange rate.

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