The Nigerian naira experienced a decline against the US dollar in recent trading, losing 0.64% of its value at the official market. On Wednesday, it traded at N1,308.52 to the dollar, marking a decrease from the previous rate of N1,300.15 on Tuesday.
Data from the FMDQ Exchange showed that the naira depreciated by N8.37 compared to the previous trading day. Despite this, the total daily turnover rose to $197.54 million, up from $133.65 million recorded on Tuesday.
At the Investor’s and Exporter’s window, the naira traded between N1,367 and N1,098 against the dollar.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has been implementing ongoing reforms to strengthen the currency, leading to a steady appreciation until recently. However, the naira faced a four-day decline, prompting actions from regulatory authorities.
READ ALSO: More Trouble for Nigerians as MTN, Airtel, Glo, Others Plan to Increase Tariff
In a bid to safeguard the foreign exchange market, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took action by freezing over 300 accounts linked to illicit forex trading. During an interactive meeting with media executives in Abuja, EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, stated:
“There were people within the system who were carrying out activities worse than Binance using P2P platforms. The 300 illicit accounts would have led to a crash of the naira value within a week if the EFCC had not moved in.”
