$20 Billion (N3.94tn) idle in Nigerians’ domiciliary accounts – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday raised the alarm that about $20bn (N3.94tn) was lying idle in different domiciliary accounts of the citizens.

The Deputy Governor, Financial System Surveillance, CBN, Dr. Joseph Nnana, stated this during a meeting of the Joint Appropriation Committees of the National Assembly with government officials on the 2016 budget.

Nnana said, “Distinguished chairman sir, we have $20bn lying idle in various domiciliary accounts of many customers at the various banks across the country.

“This is part of the reasons why the naira has continued to slide against the US dollar.”

He alleged that some privileged Nigerians were behind the consistent slide in the value of the naira by embarking on dollar speculation to the detriment of the local currency.

Naira hits record low of 400 against the dollar

The fall in the value of the naira is yet to abate as the Nigerian currency exchanged for N400 to a dollar Thursday at the parallel market.

Fresh pressure on the naira since last week Thursday has seen the currency fall further from N318 to N400 to a dollar.

Financial experts linked the persistent fall of the naira to panic buying of the dollar and other major hard currencies by importers, individuals and businessmen.

NAFDAC discovers Factory with expired canned foods in Lagos

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on Thursday said it had uncovered an illegal factory within the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos loaded with various expired canned food.

The agency’s Spokesman, Mr Anslem Okonkwor, said disclosed this in a statement that the discovery was sequel to a special raid and enforcement operation in some markets in the metropolis by officers of the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of the agency.

It said that the expired canned food were worth millions of naira, adding that a 24-year-old man, Victor Okeke had been arrested in connection with the expired products. “The factory, which was 

originally a one-room shop was used to stock, re-validate and distribute expired products, particularly, food condiments. Some of the expired products discovered in the unhygienic factory included expired Maggi sauce with manufacturing date of 15/08/2011 and expiry date of 15/08/2014.

What do you guys think of CBN prohibiting foreign currency cash deposits into bank accounts?

I suspect Nigeria might be the only country in the world that's doing this...because it makes no sense to me. In their bid to check fraud, The Central Bank of Nigeria placed a ban on foreign currency cash deposits in banks. It was officially announced yesterday by CBN. Read a circular they released yesterday and tell us if you think it's a step in the right direction. I don't!

"The Central Bank of Nigeria has considered the recent statements by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) concerning the large volume of foreign currencies in their vaults and the decision to stop accepting foreign currency cash deposits into customers’ domiciliary accounts as a welcome development.

Naira to rise further as banks reject dollars

The United States dollar will further tumble against the naira at the parallel market this week as Deposit Money Banks continue to reject cash deposit of foreign currencies into customers’ domiciliary accounts.

The naira had appreciated against the dollar from 245 to 220 at the parallel market last week after banks started denying their customers opportunity to make cash deposits of dollar, pound and euro into their domiciliary accounts.

Foreign exchange dealers told our correspondent on Sunday that the naira would likely appreciate further against the dollar at the black market this week.

A forex trader, who chose to speak under the condition of anonymity said, “We expect the naira to

appreciate further this week at the parallel market.

“Banks have flooded the market with dollars and other foreign currencies. This is making the naira to appreciate. There is still a huge stock of dollars out there that the banks will be pushing into the parallel market this week.”

Naira rebounds, now N208 to dollar as CBN moves against illicit financial flows

 The Naira at the weekend appreciated against major currencies, especially the dollar, which exchanged for between N206 and N210 at the parallel market on Sunday.

 The currency, which had lost up to 20 per cent of its value recently when a dollar exchanged for N245, responded to series of policies churned out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

 As part of efforts to further strengthen the naira, the apex bank, at the weekend, vowed to move against illicit financial flows.

 The CBN policies which have seen Naira firm up have, however, brought untold hardship on Nigerians on vacation abroad as they find it difficult to make withdrawals from their domiciliary accounts from outside the country.

 In its plan to properly price the Naira, the apex bank had been tweaking its foreign exchange policies.

Naira Falls Across Markets As CBN Adjust Clearing Rate To N197

The nation’s currency, naira on Wednesday depreciated in valued against the US dollar, across all market segments as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adjusted its clearing rates to N197/$ from N196.65k/$.

Naira weakened against dollar by N1 or 0.42 percent at the Bureau De Change segment and N1.50k/$ or 0.62 percent at the parallel market.

Consequently, after trading on Wednesday, the local currency closed at N241/$ compared to N240/$ the previous day at the BDC segment and N242.50k/$ as against N241/$ on Tuesday at the parallel market.

At the inter-bank market, naira slide by N0.36k or 0.18 percent against the dollar as it closed at N198.04k/$ compared to N197.68k/$ the previous day according to data obtained from Financial Markets dealers Quotations (FMDQ).

Naira Drops To N241 Against The Dollar

The naira hit another record low of 241 against the dollar at the parallel market on Monday as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s restrictions on foreign exchange sale fuelled unofficial trade in dollars, Reuters reported.

The ban on importers from accessing the Nigerian foreign exchange markets for the importation of 41 items had led to the volatility of the naira-dollar exchange rate at the black market.

Since June 23 when the new forex rule became operational, the naira has fallen by 10.5 per cent from 218 to 241 against the greenback.

Foreign exchange dealers said the artificial scarcity of the United States currency still pervaded the market.

The new forex rule had led to huge demand at the parallel market, causing dealers to hoard the dollar in anticipation of further fall in the naira

Nigerians To Pay More For Garri, Yam, Others In Coming Weeks – Report

Nigerians are to pay even more for consumer goods in the coming weeks, following an increase of about 10% over the last six months, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the first half of 2015 as published Wednesday by SB Morgen.

The new raise will put more strain on the average Nigerian worker who is already spending about 60% of his earnings on feeding.

SB Morgen provides market intelligence and strategic communication services required for bridging the gap between African emerging market opportunities and investors from around the world.

The CPI reveals that both locally produced consumer goods and the imported goods have maintained fairly unstable prices over the last six months.

CBN adjusts forex peg as naira hits N228 per dollar

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday lowered the naira peg to 196.95 against the dollar from 196.90 it set last week.

This made it the fourth time the CBN had adjusted the peg since it was introduced in February, Reuters reported.

This happened just as the naira tumbled further to 228 against the dollar at the parallel market on Tuesday from 265 on Monday.

Reuters reported that the yield on the Federal Government’s 2024 bond in the JP Morgan Government Bond Index rose by 40 basis point to 14.74 per cent.

Naira Faces Fresh Pressure, Falls To 222 Per Dollar

The naira, which rose to 180 against the dollar shortly after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari about a month ago, has fallen to 222 at the parallel market due to a huge demand for dollars by importers and investors.

Increasing business activities have made importers and investors to move their foreign exchange demands to the parallel market, putting pressure on the naira at the segment, it was learnt on Tuesday.

The dollar was sold for between 220 and 222 on the streets of Lagos, Abuja and Kano on Tuesday, while the pounds and euro were sold for 350 and 249, respectively.

Naira Depreciates Against Major Currencies

The Naira on Friday at the parallel market depreciated against three international currencies at the close of trading for the week. A on Friday in Lagos showed that the Naira depreciated by N1 or 0.45 per cent against the dollar due to high demand. It sold for N221 against the dollar from the N220 it sold on Monday, June 15.

The Naira also lost N27 to sell at N352 to the pound, representing 8.31 per cent depreciation from the N325 it traded on June 15.Besides, the Naira against the euro went for N245 compared with the N238 it sold on June 15, representing N7 or 2.97 per cent drop. The Naira against the dollar at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official rate remained at N196.90, the rate since June 11.