Barely 10 days after the CBN stopped forex sale to importers of rice, textile and 39 other items, the naira on Wednesday crashed to 230 against the United States dollar at the parallel market, down from 218 recorded on June 23 when the new forex rule was introduced.
The policy, which has pushed huge forex demand from the interbank (official) market to the parallel (black) market and the Bureau de Change retail segment, has led to artificial scarcity of dollar and other major foreign currencies as operators now hoard them in anticipation of higher prices.
The naira had fallen to 220, 223, 226.5 and 228 against the dollar in the past one week.
However, the naira traded at 198.95 to the dollar at the interbank market on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The central bank had lowered its exchange rate peg to N196.95 to the dollar on Tuesday from N196.90 last week
Meanwhile, the CBN has reminded dealers and banks that their dollar cash sale for six items, including schools fees, insurance premium, basic travel allowance and monthly mortgage should not exceed $5,000.
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