MARKET NEWS
Naira Plunges To N1,690.37/$1 On Official Market - NEW TELEGRAPH
The naira fell to a new record low of N1,690.37/$1 on the official market on Monday, compared with N1,652.25/$1 last Friday, data from FMDQ shows.
The local currency also weakened on the parallel market yesterday, sliding to N1,740 per dollar, compared with N1,735 per dollar on Friday, according to currency dealers.
In its latest rating report on Nigeria, leading credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, said that despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) reform measures, the country is still grappling with fx market instability.
The report stated: “The Central Bank of Nigeria is initiating several measures to address FX liquidity challenges and formalise FX activity to support the currency.
These include plans to introduce an electronic FX matching platform for all FX transactions effective December 1, 2024, to provide intra-day prices in real-time and enhance transparency.
“The CBN has also raised the monetary policy rate five times by a cumulative 850bp to 27.25 per cent since February 2024. However, Fitch believes that the FX market has yet to stabilise, and the ongoing flexibility of the exchange rate remains to be tested.”
New Telegraph reports that Fitch Solutions, a financial intelligence service provider, had over the weekend predicted that the naira would slide to as low as N1,993 per dollar in 2028, severely impacting Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry to import medical devices.
In a report published by its subsidiary, BMI Re – search, the company said despite expected rebound in the economy, Nigeria’s medical devices market will continue to face operational and demand headwinds over the near term.
“Nigeria’s medical device market will grow at a 2023-2028 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8 per cent in local currency terms and 9.6% in US dollar terms, taking market value to N171.1 billion by 2028,” the report said.
