Currencies
Nigeria’s Naira Falls on Parallel Market After Dollar Shortage
- Exchange bureaux seek dollar supply to rein in naira plunge
- Local unit seeing price volatility on inadequate dollar supply
A street currency dealer at a market in Lagos.
Photographer: Benson Ibeabuchi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Nigeria’s naira fell against the dollar on the parallel market, widening the gap with the official rate, after a halt in foreign currency supply to local bureaux de change led to a scramble for the greenback.
The unit declined 1.1% to 1,643 naira a dollar on Friday, from 1,625 naira the previous day on street trading, according to Abubakar Muhammed, chief executive of Forward Marketing Bureau de Change Ltd. in Lagos, which compiles the data. The spread with the official rate widened to about 2.7%, according to FMDQ data compiled by Bloomberg.