The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has adjusted the currency rate to reflect changes in market conditions, raising it from N1537.07 to N1605.82 per USD for customs clearance at ports. This is an N68.75 increase.
According to the federal government’s trade portal, the CBN and Nigeria Customs Service have modified the exchange rate for cargo clearance three times in the previous week in reaction to the Naira’s volatility in order to guarantee correct value in the face of shifting market dynamics.
The Nigeria Customs Service’s Comptroller-General had previously declared that the top bank should handle exchange rate-related matters rather than the service setting the currency rate for cargo clearance.
The increase in the cargo clearance exchange rate means that Nigerians will have to pay more to clear their goods, which will raise final consumer prices. Nigeria is currently dealing with a serious dilemma related to rising living expenses, with inflation reaching a 28-year high of 29.90% in January 2024.
Due to the rising expense of living, there have been threats and isolated protests in some of the nation’s largest cities, endangering law and order throughout the nation. The African Development Bank had issued a warning, citing the possibility that rising fuel and commodities prices might cause societal unrest not only in Kenya but also in Nigeria.
The News Chronicles daily FX monitor shows that on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, the naira fell to a record low of N1,830 to the USD in the parallel market. In comparison to the N1700/$ it exchanged the day before, this indicates a 7.10% decrease.
The CBN implemented changes intended to support the naira’s value in the short run, but the naira’s value continues to decline. As of this morning, the naira is trading at N1693.9/USDT on Binance.
According to several media reports from the previous few days, the CBN and the federal government intend to prevent Nigerians from using the Binance platform to trade foreign exchange. Nigerians have flocked to the platform in recent times for peer-to-peer trading of forex.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) claimed that speculation was to blame for the volatility of the Nigerian forex market and that the naira was undervalued, with time rising to its actual value.
