Naira returns to depreciation against US dollar despite EFCC raid on BDCs

The Naira returned to a depreciation trend against the US Dollar at the official exchange market on Thursday despite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, raids on Bureau De Change operators.

Data from FMDQ showed that the Naira depreciated to N1571.31 per US dollar on Thursday from N1,542.58 on Wednesday.

This represents a 28.73 or 1.6 per cent depreciation compared to the N1,542.58 recorded at the close of trading on Wednesday.

The depreciation of the Naira against the dollar is not unconnected to the continued clampdown on BDC by EFCC operatives, leading to a surge in the demand for FX.

The development comes after two days of appreciation of the Naira against USD at the official forex market.

Meanwhile, at the parallel market, the appreciated to an average of N1,680.00 per USD on Thursday from N1,860 per US dollar on Wednesday.

Torizone recalls that for the past weeks, the Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced several policies to checkmate the continued fluctuations of the Naira in the FX market.

The latest policies by CBN were the new guidelines issued to stop the payout of Personal Travel Allowance, PTA, and Business Travel Allowance, BTA, in cash.