Naira depreciates against the dollar

The naira on Wednesday depreciated slightly against the dollar at the parallel market, dropping by N2.

The currency traded N222, N350 and N256 against the dollar, pounds and euro, respectively.

On Monday and Tuesday, it traded at N220, N345 and N252 against the dollar, pounds and euro respectively.

However, the official interbank rate remained at N197 to the dollar.

Mr Harrison Owoh, a Bureau de Change operator told NAN in Lagos that the Naira’s drop in the value was connected to Central Bank of Nigeria’s failure to sell enough foreign currencies.

He said that parallel market operators had expected the apex bank to sell more foreign currencies before the Eid el-Kabir break.

Owoh said that the currency may depreciate further due to the long break associated with Muslims’ celebration.