As
a result of a crackdown in the parallel market, currency traders and
the persistent scarcity of the greenback, naira is further weakening
against the United States dollar, Reuters has reported.
The local currency fell 2.08 per cent
week-on-week on Thursday to 480 to the dollar on the parallel market
against 470 a dollar last week, while it was quoted by commercial
lenders at 314.80 a dollar on the interbank market.
According to the reports, the foreign exchange demand by small businesses was set to surge ahead of holiday season sales.
The naira has, however, consistently closed around 305.5 a dollar level since August via the official window.
“The consistent clampdown on black
market operators by security agents has driven some currency retailers
underground, putting more pressure on available hard currency,” one
dealer said.
But the Kenyan shilling could
strengthen against the dollar in the coming week due to subdued importer
demand and increased inflows from overseas remittances, traders said.
At 0742 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.80/102.00 to the dollar, the same as last Thursday’s close.
“From the data we’ve seen in the
past, we normally tend to see an uptick in the Diaspora inflows during
this month of December,” said a trader at a commercial bank.
Credit: dailytrust
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