Naira falls further to N495/$1

The naira is set to witness another round of decline against the dollar in the days ahead as an increase in dollar flows from Nigerians living abroad coming home for holidays fell short of expectations, traders said.


Foreign exchange reserves last Friday also fell 11.7 per cent to $25.72 billion by December 28, from $29.13 billion a year earlier, data mined from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows.

The local currency opened Monday morning at 490 to the dollar from 495 against the dollar it traded last week of 2016 on the parallel market.

In the official interbank window, the naira was quoted at 305 to the dollar on Thursday, the last trading day for the year.

“We see the naira depreciating against the dollar by the time more businesses resume operations next week after the festive season as dollar liquidity remains thin in the market,” one currency dealer said.