Economy
Dollar Hits N1,600 At Parallel Market
The foreign exchange crisis worsened on Thursday as the local currency further depreciated, exchanging at N1,600 to a dollar at the parallel market, findings by Daily Trust have shown.
This was coming a few days after the local currency hit an all-time low at the official market, crossing N1,500 to one dollar.
The naira has come under a very severe attack in recent times, defying several interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) thereby worsening the cost of living crisis and inflation in the country.
Our correspondent reports that the naira has depreciated by over 50 per cent in the last five months.
Recall that the dollar first hit N1,000 in the parallel market in September 2023. It oscillated within that rate until the New Year when it started experiencing a free fall.
The depreciation of Nigeria’s currency is despite the federal government receiving a $2.25bn foreign exchange support from the AfreximBank as well as the offset of part of the unsettled forex obligations.
The CBN had also initiated a series of measures in recent times in a bid to stop the free fall of naira.
But the currency appears to be defying the various interventions as it depreciated further on Thursday at the parallel market amidst the decline in forex turnover.
Naira appreciated against the dollar on Wednesday at the official foreign exchange market after the Eid-el-Fitr holidays.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the naira strengthened to N1,531.25 per dollar on Wednesday from N1,536.82 recorded last Friday.
This means that the naira gained N5.57 per dollar on a day-to-day basis.
Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated to N1,555 per dollar on Wednesday from N1,550 traded on Friday before the Eid-el-Fitr holidays.
Meanwhile, recall that over the weekend, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that the Net Foreign Exchange Reserve, NFER, stood at $23.11 billion, the highest level in over three years.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dismissed claims that it has introduced new N5,000 and N10,000 notes, labeling the reports as false.
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, the apex bank debunked the rumors, stating: “This content is NOT from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Kindly note that the official website of the CBN is cbn.gov.ng.”
The clarification comes amid widespread misinformation suggesting that the CBN planned to roll out high-denomination banknotes to reduce cash-handling costs and improve liquidity management.
Some versions of the false reports even attributed comments to a supposed Deputy Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Tahir Jr., claiming the notes would be introduced on May 1, 2025.
Amazon has made a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok, the Chinese-owned short-video platform, just days before an April 5 deadline to sell its US operations, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The US tech and e-commerce giant’s move adds to the growing uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future as regulatory pressure mounts.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok was ordered to divest TikTok’s US business under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which requires the company to sell its US operations to a non-Chinese entity by January 19, 2025, or face a ban.
The company briefly ceased operations in the US on January 18 but resumed service after President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline by 75 days, setting a new cutoff for April 5.
With less than four days remaining, TikTok’s fate remains unclear. If no sale occurs, the app could be banned, though enforcement details have not been fully outlined.
Several potential buyers have expressed interest in TikTok, including private equity firm Blackstone. Meanwhile, US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly in talks to raise additional outside investment to buy out TikTok’s Chinese investors.
The effort is part of a bid led by Oracle and a group of American investors seeking to separate the platform from ByteDance, The Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
ByteDance has not publicly disclosed progress on a sale, leaving the fate of TikTok’s 170 million US users uncertain.
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