The Naira appreciated against the dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, closing at N485/$1 as the new policy on diaspora remittances by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN seems to be having a significant impact on the black market. CBN however retained the official exchange rate at N379/$ on its website. In the amended procedures for receipt of diaspora remittances, the recipients are allowed to receive dollars and can sell at the parallel market in an obvious attempt to advance liquidity in the forex market and lessen the disparity between the black market and the official market.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had spoken on the exchange rate, during the Annual Bankers Dinner organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Lagos on Friday.
“Like other emerging market countries and countries reliant on oil exports, the decline in crude oil earnings, as well as the retreat by foreign portfolio investors, significantly affected the supply of foreign exchange into Nigeria.
“In order to adjust for the decrease in supply of foreign exchange, the naira depreciated from N305/$ to N360/$ and subsequently to N380/$.
“With the decline in our foreign exchange earnings and successive exchange rate adjustments, the CBN has continued to implement a demand management framework, which is designed to bolster the production of items that can be produced in Nigeria, and aid conservation of our external reserves.”
The Bureau De Change operators had attributed the devaluation of the Naira which it is currently experiencing to the speculative activities of some operators.
