Naira suffers major setback as forex reserves now $33.52bn

The naira suffered its weakest performance in recent weeks at the beginning of the new week after Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves recorded its first depletion in six weeks.

The naira closed weaker at the official and parallel markets, the first all-round negative performance in recent weeks, exchanging for N520 to a Dollar.

The British Pound Sterling opening rate was N708/£1 while the Euro stands at N606/€1.

However, at the official market, the Investors and Exchange (I&E) window, the Naira began trading at the same rate from last week.

According to FMDQ Securities Exchange data, this week’s starting rate was N411.67per $1, the same rate it opened last week.

Meanwhile, the expected foreign currency inflows from Eurobond issuance of $6.2 billion and the $3.4 billion SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will have a significant boost on Nigeria’s external reserves.

However, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that Nigeria’s external reserves have dropped by 0.21 percent in one week.