Naira plunges to new low at official window

From Abubakar Yunusa,ABUJA

Naira weakened to a new low at the official market on Monday, falling 0.46 per cent against the United States dollar at the spot market window.
According to data published by FMDQ, where forex is officially traded, the naira opened trading at N461.70 and closed at N463.50 to a dollar on Monday.
This represents a N2.12 or 0.46 per cent depreciation as against N461.38 posted in the previous market session last Friday.
The domestic unit reached an intra-day high of N460.00 and hit a low of N466.00 before it eventually settled at N463.50 per $1 at the close of business on Monday.
The rate is the weakest rate the naira has exchanged this year. In the first quarter of the year, the currency moved between the exchange range of N461.00 and N462 benchmark to a dollar, after closing the previous year at N461.50 per $1.
At N463.50 per $1, the local fiat has declined by at least 0.43 per cent in less than four months into this year amidst forex scarcity, dwindling foreign reserves and the controversial naira redesign policy.
Within the business period, forex turnover decreased significantly by 7.4 per cent with $175.40 million recorded at the close of business on Monday as against the $188.37 million posted in the previous session last week Friday.
However, the naira appreciated significantly against the greenback at the parallel market on Monday.
According to currency rates collated in cities across the country, the domestic currency closed at N738.46 to a dollar on Monday as against N746.29 per $1 it closed on Friday last week.
The spread between the official and unofficial market is pegged at N274.96, leaving a margin of N59.32 per cent at the close of business on Monday.