Naira appreciates to N1,700 as EFCC black market clampdown extends to Lagos

By Joy Baba-Yesufu

Naira has appreciated against the dollar, gaining 11.76 percent at the parallel market, commonly referred to as black market, following market sentiment.
The local currency, which peaked at a lowest of N1,900 (and N2,000 in some areas) on Friday has recovered to N1,700 per dollar on Monday morning according to data collated from some street traders.
Naira strengthened to as high as N1,500 per dollar during the weekend.
The rise in naira value was due to market sentiment as the government agencies continue to clampdown on black market operators across Abuja and Lagos.
The government’s secret police known as DSS and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) extended their clampdown to Lagos after arresting over 100 Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators in Abuja.
“The EFCC and the DSS came to Apapa and arrested some traders. They seized the dollars and carried them away “ one of the traders who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
“At Haji camp, they arrested 40 BDC operators.
Another market sentiment is an unconfirmed report that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is trying to resume dollar sales to the BDCs.
“The action of the government agencies is a wrong approach and it is not sustainable to stabilise the naira,” another BDC operator said.
On Friday naira fell to a record low of 1,665.50 per one dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
This represents a 5.65 percent loss over N1,571.31 per dollar quoted on the previous day. The naira depreciation was attributed to strong demand for dollar amid shortage.
The intraday high strengthened to N1,805 on Friday from N1,851 on Thursday, while the intraday low fell marginally to N1,301 as against N1,300 closed on Thursday.