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Dollars in free fall, now N460/ $1

Dollars is falling headlong at the black market, and Nigerians’ muted jubilation is visible as the greenback exchanged for N460 on Friday, February 24, 2017. Gaining over N65 in five days, patriots are waiting for the high prices of products, hitherto blamed on rising dollars, to start crumbling in weeks.

The new forex policy announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday (February 20), expanding access to travellers, students in universities abroad and those seeking medicare at N360/ $1, has led to speculators offloading dollars which is linked to other major international currencies like the pounds sterling and euro.

Since the announcement, forex traders are refusing to buy dollars, pounds and euros as the crash is unpredictable. And the hesitation to buy is leading to further fall.

Analysts believe with the flooding of the forex market with estimated $600 million in one week, dollars may exchange for less than N400 at the end of this week. And if the policy is sustained, the exchange rate will become bearable and may settle nearer N350, if not less.

Speculators took advantage of the scarcity of dollars, manipulating its rate and driving up prices of all products in Nigeria, from imported to locally produced.  Even commodities with no forex imput skyrocketed, with inflation settling at 18.72% in January.

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Written by Encomium

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