As Naira continues to strengthen against foreign currencies, especially the United States Dollar (USD) at both parallel and official markets, the foreign exchange on cargo clearance at the nation’s seaports and international airports across the country has been reduced again.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Saturday, slashed the foreign exchange rate on cargo clearance from N1,572.507/$1 to N1448.386/$1.
The slash represents 7.8% reduction or a difference of N124.121 between the new and the old rates.
It was gathered that the exchange rate between the Naira and the Dollar At the official market strengthened to N1,431/$ on Friday, March 22, 2024, closing the week on a positive note.
Data from the FMDQOTC, where the exchange rate is officially set, revealed that the official currency gained 1.52% at the close of business, continuing a rally that has now lasted seven days.
The Naira has now gained over 12% in one week, suggesting that the apex bank’s policies, implemented aggressively since February, were beginning to yield fruits.
On the parallel market where the exchange rate trades unofficially, traders still quoted between N1400-N1480/$1 depending on who is buying or selling.
To this end, importers that opened Form ‘M’ on Wednesday will pay less to clear their cargoes as import duties are benchmarked against the dollar.
Also, importers will open Form ‘M’ at a lower rate compared to those who opened Form ‘M’ on Friday, March 23, 2024, according to the central bank’s new directive to Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to use the rate on the date of submitting Form ‘M’ for calculating import duties.
