TheCable

Nigeria’s local currency, naira, fell to 246 against the dollar on Thursday, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cut sales of dollars to some Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country.

The naira, which traded at 243 to the dollar on Wednesday, weakened by 1.22 percent to its present trading point of 246 – a far cry from its position around N168 at the same time in 2014.

On the official interbank market, however, the naira traded at its CBN peg of 198.97 to the dollar.

Aminu Gwadabe, president of Nigeria’s bureau de change association, told Reuters that 1,599 bureaux de change agents out of 2,818 operators were denied access to the foreign exchange sale on Wednesday, limiting dollar supply.

“The bureaux de change operators were denied access to the forex window because of their failure to file documentation backing previous purchases,” Gwadabe said.

One trader also said: “We hope by next week the issue around the suspension of some bureaux de change would have been resolved, otherwise dollar shortage may persist in the market, leading to further depreciation of the naira.”

CBN requested that all bureaux de change operators submit accounts showing their dollar usage at the start of each week before they can access more dollar supply.

The CBN, under Godwin Emefiele, has taken stringent policy to keep the naira pricing close, on and off official fronts, selling over $80m to BDC operators since July.

Experts have called on Nigeria to devalue the currency to ensure what they refer to as appropriate pricing of the economy, but President Muhammadu Buhari has made  it clear that government would not be doing that.