The performance of the naira was mixed across the various market segments in the currency market on Monday.
At the
parallel market, the naira weakened by 0.41 per cent to close at N741 against
the greenback; while at the I &E window, the naira strengthened by 0.38 per
cent to close at N462.25/dollar against Friday’s exchange rate of N464.00/$1.
The naira at
the interbank segment however closed flat at N460.93/dollar.
In the P2P
category of the forex market, the value of the local currency weakened to
N743.4 on Monday against Sunday’s exchange rate of N741.1, based on Binance
data.
An
economist, Professor Akpan Ekpo, speaking with The PUNCH stated that even with
the strengthening of the naira at the I&E window, there was a need for the
Central Bank of Nigeria to close the gap between the black market and the
official market.
“The gap
between the official rate and the black market rate is too wide. What CBN
should do is narrow that gap. It is a function of demand and supply. You don’t
have enough (forex) from oil to shore up your reserves. The economy has to be
diversified, you have to export non-oil products to earn foreign exchange. That
is the only way to close that gap,” he
said.
The National
Bureau of Statistics had over the weekend announced the inflation rate for
March 2023, which had jumped to 24.45 per cent. Following the pattern, the Central
Bank of Nigeria is expected to increase the Money Policy Rate to combat
inflation.
The NBS said
that the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases
in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers,
fish, fruits, meat, vegetables, and spirits.
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