Despite the crisis proportion of naira scarcity, the naira is losing ground to the dollar in the black market, shaking one of economics immutable laws, the law of demand and supply.
Economics teaches that once a good or service is austere or in short supply, its price traces an upward trajectory but this has not held in the black market for the naira, data reveals.
The naira exchange rate for the dollar rose to N755/$1 Friday, February 10. It was N751/$1 five days earlier on February 5.
Recall that the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele had said that the redesigned naira will have a positive effect on the value of the naira. This was while responding to questions on whether the naira redesign will affect the exchange rate.
“Well, I do not want just easily to admit that that will happen, but we suspect that this will happen and that it will positively impact the value of the naira because we don’t want to do any speculation”, Emefiele was quoted as saying.
But reports say that the naira/dollar exchange rate dropped to its lowest point since November 2022 with black market rates going as high as N755/$1 while it sold for N461.5/$1 on the official I&E representing a difference of tN293.5 over the black market rate.
The President of BDC operators otherwise known as ABCON, Alhaji (Dr) Aminu Gwadabe told an online medium that the currency redesign is yet to impact positively on the demand side of the currency exchange market as supply is still very much limited.
“Yes, incidentally the naira redesigned has not impacted positively on the value of the local currency against the greenback as there is a paucity of liquidity in the market”
