There is indication that the naira may be devalued again from the current N420.86 to N460, effectively an 8.5 percent devaluation following a memo to travel agencies to adjust their exchange rates effectively from Tuesday, July 13th.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria in May, 2021 adopted the Nafex rate as the government’s official exchange rate for the naira, effectively devaluing the currency by 7.6 per cent.
The apex bank posted the I&E rate on its website two weeks after it deleted the previous official fixed rate of N379.
The currency exchanged 410.25 for a dollar on the relatively flexible Nafex or Investors and Exporters window.
In an email communication sent to travel agencies, travel agencies were advised that exchange rates will be “going from N420.86 to N460 per dollar on GDS” starting Tuesday, July 13th 2021. They were also advised to “issue all pending tickets” using the new rates.
The GDS is an acronym for Global Distribution System and is the platform used by the travel industry for issuing tickets. Booking platforms such as Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, etc, all running on GDS already have their exchange rate adjusted to N460/$1.
This adjustment, it is learnt reflects the market dynamics of Nigeria’s exchange rate quagmire, as supply of dollars continues to struggle to meet demand.
