In the face of the economic downturn, Nigeria’s external reserves lost $167.2m in July as the Naira fell further to the dollar.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s figures on the movement of external reserves showed that the reserves, which stood at $34.12bn at the end of June 30, 2023, depreciated to $33.95bn as of July 28, 2023.
Since the floating of the Naira at the foreign exchange window on June 14, the country’s currency has continued to fluctuate due to market volatility.
Consequently, Naira exchanged from 820/$ to 868/$ at the parallel market on Monday. Meanwhile, the official Naira trading commenced at 784.91/$ and reached a high of 830/$ before closing at 756/$.
In reaction to the development in a statement, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, said the market’s confidence is depreciating.
According to him optimism is giving way to pessimism in the foreign exchange market, endangering leftover confidence in the sector.
However, at the end of its July Monetary Policy Meeting, the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Folashodun Shonubi, pledged policy intervention.
He said market volatility is caused by the increased demand for forex and the shortfall in supply.
“We have started intervening and will continue intervening until the market reaches our level.”
