The Nigerian Naira depreciated further against the US dollar on Monday, September 13, closing at N550/$1 compared to N545/$1 recorded in the previous trading session in parallel markets.
From the data recorded on the FMDQ securities exchange window where forex is officially traded, Naira closed at N412.75 per $1 at the official window on Monday, the lowest decline the currency touched on the official window. This translates to an N0.75 or 0.20 per depreciation from the N412.00 it exchanged hands with the greenback currency in the previous session on Friday last week.
The new exchange rate represents a 0.92% depreciation and further widens the gap between the black market rate and the official rate.
The 550/$ is considered a major psychological barrier to a continuous fall against the greenback that could plunge further to N600/$.
On the first trading business day of the week, the dollar broke that ceiling and sold as high as N553/$ in some market clusters in Lagos. The pound sterling also closed at about N750/£, the highest against the naira, at the black market.
The slump at the black market comes on the heels of increased forex demand pressure and a sharp decline in dollar supply.