The exchange rate between the naira and dollar hit an all-time low of N999/$1 during trading on October 19th, 2023.
This is according to intr-trading data from the FMDQ where forex is sold officially via the NAFEM.
Sources indicate this is the current intra-day high and could close lower when the market closes later in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, early afternoon trading on the black market P2P where forex is traded unofficially via cryptocurrency indicates the exchange rate is being quoted for N1,152/$1, suggesting the exchange rate is continuing with its steady decline.
Final closing exchange rate data from the FMDQ NAFEM indicate the closing rate was N782.68 on Thursday continuing with the appreciation recorded a day earlier. The exchange rate plummeted to N848/$1 on Tuesday marking the single largest fall ever for the official market.
The intra-day low was also N701/$1 and daily turnover was $97.47 million on the day.
A check on p2P websites on Thursday evening reveals the exchange rate quoted for as low as N1,170 from the N1,152 reported earlier.
Recall earlier in the week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a significant change in the terminology used within the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) market aka NAFEM as apart of its plans to have a single exchange rate market.
https://zeroequilibrium.blogspot.com/2023/10/potential-economic-effects-on-remoal-on.html?m=1
Asper my thoughts 👆🏾, this policy reversal on the ban of Forex Sales to importers of the 41 goods. Naira essentially goes into a free fall.
“Prioritizing essential goods importers in the distribution of Foreign Exchange at the official FX Windows, such as Petroleum Motor Spirit, is crucial. Oil Marketers Association, for example, has called for a subsidized exchange rate at N600/$1 to maintain prices at N613 per liter.”
So, essentially, you are proposing the reintroduction of the fuel subsidy, but rather than incorporating it as a component of fiscal policy through the NNPC, you’re suggesting facilitating it through a deliberate manipulation of the exchange rate and monetary policy via the CBN?