Naira stays firm at N465/$1 as Buhari makes new appointments

This comes just two days after the naira had dropped 10 points from N455 on Wednesday, November 16, to close the day exchanging at N465.

But with a bit of stability witnessed in last two days, there is hope the local currency will likely make some gains over the dollar next week.
The recent depreciation of the local currency can be attributed to the raid on the market by the operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last week.

It was gathered that the raid had instilled fear among BDCs.

The clampdown followed a meeting between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the SSS and leadership of the Bureau de Change (BDC) association aimed at finding solutions to the poor performance of the national currency against other international currencies, particularly the dollar, in the money market.

However, experts have predicted that the naira may likely make some gains over the dollar next week, although it may not be sustained.

An economist said: “We expect further appreciation of the currency in the parallel market over the short-term following the raid, but acknowledge that it may not be sustained for a prolonged period of time.”

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, November 18, inaugurated board of three parastatals in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in State House.

They include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board and the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority.

Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum resources, will be the chairman of all the boards.