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Naira Slides Further As Dollar Shortage Hits Banks

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The widening gap between the demand and supply of dollars in the banks and at the parallel market has continued to worsen the value of the naira, findings by The PUNCH have revealed.

In less than three weeks, the naira lost N100 after sliding from 860/$ to 960/$ at the parallel market as of Friday.

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Before the Central Bank of Nigeria enabled the free float of the naira against other global currencies in June, the naira had traded at 471/$ at the Investor & Exporter window.

However, on June 13, a day after the regulator floated the local currency, the naira rose to 664/$ the next day.

However, the naira which traded in a close margin at both the official I&E window and parallel market soon began to witness serious volatility in the black market.

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READ ALSO: 5 Reasons Naira Is Depreciating

After crossing the N900/dollar ceiling at the parallel market last week, the local currency tumbled to 925/dollar in Lagos.

On Friday, the naira reached a high of 799/$ before closing at 740.60/$ at the I&E forex window. However, at the parallel market, the naira closed at 930/dollar in Lagos and 960/$ in Abuja at the parallel market.

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The development came as dollar shortage hits banks with several lenders complaining of not having enough greenback to meet customers’ demand.

At the parallel market, currency dealers also complained of dollar shortage.

Bank officials said the CBN removal of cash deposit limits on domiciliary accounts in June had led to the repatriation of funds through the banks.

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As a result, he said the demand for the dollar had outweighed the supply significantly.

READ ALSO: CBN Speaks On Phasing Out Old Naira Notes

“Some of the dollars are being repatriated through the banks but the demand is still higher than supply because everyone is still sourcing for dollar for imports, PTA, BTA, others,” an official of a lender, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said.

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“Nigerians are still hoarding dollar, customers are still hoarding FX because they don’t trust the policy. Banks are not getting forex supply from the CBN regularly like before,” he added.

Also, an official of tier-1 bank, who pleaded anonymity, said, “Before, the banks used to get dollar from the CBN every week but now, it has reduced drastically; we have not been getting again. Banks are sourcing for forex everywhere. The banks don’t have enough. We have not been getting supply from the CBN for weeks now.”

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, in a chat with our correspondent, said liquidity squeeze in the FX market had continued to put the naira under heavy attack from speculators.

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He said, “The dwindling supplies in the I&E window shifted the demand to the parallel market where volatility and spikes is most pervasive. The entire forex market is plagued by liquidity shortages.

READ ALSO: CBN Speaks On Phasing Out Old Naira Notes

“The banks, as a result of the supply shortages, are limiting their available position for the financing of visible letters of credit and abandoning the invisible request like PTA, school fees, medicals of their clients and inadvertently adding more pressure in the parallel market.”

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He added, “As it is, most licensed BDCs due to their demand for KYC requirement have lost their clients to the parallel and undocumented space with no regulation and standardisation. It is indeed a difficult time for most of our members as we are excluded from the harmonised market.”

Proffering solutions, Gwadabe said Nigerians should aspire to have a stable exchange rate devoid of illegal economic behaviour like arbitrages, hoarding and panic buying.

“ABCON is desirous to partner the apex bank and the Federal Government for an elaborate dialogue and engagement to champion paths to naira recovery,” he said.

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He added that the financial architecture should be reviewed to include BDCs in the harmonised markets.

The monetary and fiscal authorities should create enabling environment and friendly policies, he said.
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NNPCL Increases Fuel Price

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit across its retail outlets.

It was gathered that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja have adjusted their fuel pump price to N955 per litre from N890.

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This is the case in NNPCL retail outlets along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse and other parts of Abuja.

READ ALSO:Fuel Station Manager, Three Others Arrested For Robbery

Similarly, the pump price hike has been implemented at filling stations in Kogi and Nasarawa.

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This means that the petrol pump price was increased by N65.

This comes after independent petroleum product marketers and filling station owners in Abuja increased petrol pump prices to between N950 and N971 per litre at the weekend. Their decision followed an upward review of the ex-depot petrol price by Dangote Refinery to N858 per litre, up from N820.

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Naira Appreciates Against Dollar As External Reserves Swell

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The naira appreciated against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Monday to begin the week on a bullish note amid swelling external reserves.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange data, the naira appreciated to N1,531.95 against the dollar on Monday from N1,533.74 traded last week Friday.

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READ ALSO:Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market

This showed that the Naira strengthened by N1.79 when compared to the N1,533.74 exchanged at the close of work last week.

Meanwhile, at the black market, the naira remained stable at N1560 per litre, the same exchange rate traded on Friday.

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The development comes as Nigeria’s external reserves had maintained a modest rise to $39.54 billion as of August 1st, 2025, up from $39.36 billion on July 30th.

 

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Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market

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The naira continued its appreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the naira strengthened further to N1,533.18 against the dollar on Tuesday, from N1,534.21 traded the previous day.

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This represents a gain of N1.03 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis and marks the second consecutive day of appreciation at the official FX market.

READ ALSO:Woman Arrested For Killing, Selling Pregnant Nurse’s Body Parts

Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated further to N1,545 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,537 traded on Monday.

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Recall that the naira had similarly closed Monday’s trading session with mixed sentiments, recording gains at the official market but depreciating at the parallel market.

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