The value of the Nigerian naira depreciated by 1.5 percent as banks shifted personal travel allowance (PTA) and business travel allowance (BTA) rates from N413 to N419 per dollar.
PTA and BTA are currency exchange schemes specifically set up for Nigerians travelling abroad for personal or business reasons. Each traveller can get up to $4000 every quarter to lessen FX disparity at parallel and official markets.
The rate, which exchanged for N413 per dollar in the last few months, has added about N6, bank sources told TheCable on Wednesday.
“We are surprised to see the changes too. The differences have always been kobo — but recently it has moved from N413 to 417 and within the last week and now, our portal is exchanging for N419 to a dollar,” a source said.
At the parallel market, naira traded flat at N570 against the US dollar.
Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), popularly known as ‘abokis’, who spoke to TheCable, quoted the naira at N567/N570 to a dollar.
Since the suspension of trading information by abokiFX — citizens have resorted to street traders for current parallel market rates of the local currency.
On the apex bank’s website,the local currency closed at N415.17 to a dollar at the official market on Tuesday.
This means the rate has dropped N2 so far in January at the official market.
Nwanisobi Osita, spokesperson of the CBN, had told TheCable that the market determines the exchange rate.
“If you see N413, then that’s what it is. The market determines the rate,” Osita said.
The apex bank has devalued the exchange rate multiple times since March 2020 as it strives to bridge the disparity between the official and parallel market rates.
– The Cable