Where we dey go??? Naira plummets to all-time low of 472 per dollar

The naira slumped to a new all-time low of 470 to the dollar on the parallel market on Wednesday, posting its biggest daily decline since the Central Bank of Nigeria adopted a flexible foreign exchange regime.
The local currency stood at 452 to the dollar at the close of trading on Tuesday, down from 445 against the greenback on Monday.

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, told our correspondent, “The rate is N472 to the dollar as we await the kick-off of the distribution of dollars to the BDCs by Travelex on Friday.
“As we speak, no bank is dispensing dollars to the BDCs. The BDCs’ accounts were debited by some banks since Monday and they are not able to pay any of the BDCs so far debited by them. This is really sending a bad signal in the market.”
A currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, said the parallel market was being used as a mirror of what the naira should be doing, adding, “For me, it may not really reflect naira’s performance. But basically, it is a demand and supply dynamics.”
The Ecobank analyst said the naira might hit 500 against the dollar in the coming days.
He explained, “The only way out is when there is dollar inflow into the market, and this is one of the reasons the CBN says it is not willing to cut the Monetary Policy Rate now. The idea is that why you are still trying to woo foreign investors into your fixed-income market, you should continue to be able to assure them of returns on their investment.
“What the CBN can do is to use monetary policy to keep encouraging inflows into the market.”