The pressure on the foreign exchange intensified on Tuesday as the dollar was trading at N420 at the black market after oil price crashed to $20 per barrel.
The price of Brent crude has fallen to as low as $20per barrel as on Tuesday, following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic globally.
Tracking COVID-19 in Nigeria
Total Coronavirus Cases, Apr 21
665
Total Coronavirus Deaths, Apr 21
22
Year-to-Date change in NSE ASI
-15
Balance in Excess Crude Account, Dec 2019 (million)
$70
Brent Crude ($ per barrel)
26
With the current exchange rate, it implies that the Nigerian currency is losing N2.50k per dollar compared to N417.50K traded the previous day.
The dollar can only be purchased from a very few operators in Lagos as many others are not trading due to the COVID-19 lockdown announced by the Federal Government.
“Actually for one month now I have been at home. I have not gone to market and there has not been any transaction since then,” one of the dealers said
The foreign exchange market opened with an indicative rate of N385.71k/$ on Tuesday, gaining marginally by 0.02 percent from N385.79k opened on Monday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, data from FMDQ showed.
SOURCE:BUSINESS DAY
