Naira slumps against dollar amid CBN interest rate hike

The naira nosedived against the dollar at foreign exchange markets in the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest interest rate hike.

Dayyabu Ashiru, a Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, told DAILY POST that the naira exchanged for N1,590 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,570 the previous day.

“We buy at N1,580 per dollar and sell at N1,590,” he said.

This represents a N20 loss.

The naira similarly depreciated at the official foreign exchange market.

FMDQ data showed that the currency depreciated to N 1,548.76 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,500.32 exchanged on Monday.

This showed that the naira shed N48.44 against the dollar on Tuesday compared to the previous day.

The depreciation comes despite CBN selling $106.5 million in foreign currency last Wednesday and Thursday to authorised dealers.

This comes on the heels of CBN’s interest rate hike to 26.75 per cent on Tuesday from 26.25 per cent in May.