Notwithstanding the rattle by the newest variant of COVID-19, Omicron, which has raised fresh uncertainty, data and economists see near-term stability in the foreign exchange market.
Rising from the panic that greeted the ‘freezing’ of the bureau de change (BDCs), the black market rate has been stable in recent weeks, trading around 550/$ band in the past few days.
Hoarding and panic buying had seized the market by the jugular, raising the level of illiquidity. As the crisis continued, the value of naira against benchmark currencies plummeted with the dollar hitting new highs daily and approaching close to N600/$.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and some financial analysts described the panic as transitory, pointing out that the currency traders would run out of business when the new retail transaction model, which makes the deposit money banks (DMBs) the sole sale outlets, was perfected.
The CBN had also insisted that the black market rates could not be taken for the true…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
