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Ololade Omosan-Agie
The naira is gradually regaining after a spike of N525 against the dollar traded just after the Central Bank of Nigeria suspended sale of dollars to Bureau de Change operators.
On Friday, the naira traded N510 to the dollar after closing at N512 a dollar the previous day.
The naira also gained over the pounds to trade at N705 per pound from N710 traded on Thursday
Against the Euro, the naira appreciated by N2 to sell at N598/Euro, a rise from the N600/ Euro traded in the early hours of Tuesday.
The regulator’s governor, Godwin Emefiele during a post Monetary Policy Committee meeting briefing had accused BDC operators of facilitating money laundering and not meeting the demands of those it was created to serve.
The lender would halt its weekly sale of foreign exchange to BDCs, while deposit money banks would sell to customers to meet their foreign exchange needs, according to the governor.
The option resorted by the apex bank follows the persistent rise in the value of dollar at the un-official market despite efforts to moderate the rates.
The country is faced with the quagmire of foreign exchange shortfall which was worsened by the Covid-19 induced fall in crude oil prices.
But oil prices have increased to over $70 per barrel leading to increased foreign exchange for the country.
