Naira plunges further as dollar turnover rises by 46.69% in I&E window

The naira continued to lose value against the dollar in the official and parallel markets on Monday, despite a significant increase in the volume of dollars traded in the Investor & Exporter forex window.

According to data from FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, the dollar turnover in the I&E window rose by 46.69 per cent to $123.25m on Monday, up from 84.02m on Friday.

However, this did not prevent the naira from depreciating by 1.96percent to close at N795.41/ on Monday, compared with N780.14/on Friday.

The naira also reached an intraday high of N1099/ and a low of N701/$ during the trading session.

In the parallel market, the naira fared worse, falling by 4.55 per cent to N1,150/ from N1,100/ on Friday, according to some Bureau de Change operators. They said they were buying the dollar at N1,110/ and selling at N1,150/, while the buying rate for those who wanted to sell was N1,170/$.

The naira has been under pressure since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allowed the exchange rate to float freely in the I&E window in June, in a bid to improve liquidity and transparency in the forex market. Before the policy shift, the naira traded at N471.67/$ in the I&E window and N765