Yesterday Tuesday, the Naira weakened against the dollar few hours after the CBN
maintained its benchmark interest rate and endorsed the crackdown on
parallel market traders security operatives.

It
lost N5 to exchange at N470 to the dollar at the parallel market from
N465 it traded on Monday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed
at N565 and N495, respectively.

At
the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the naira was sold at N390, CBN
controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N562
and N500, respectively.

Trading at the interbank market showed that the naira remained stable at N305.00 to a dollar.

The
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN rose from its
bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, retaining the
Monetary Policy Ratio (MPR) at 14 per cent alongside other policy
parameters.

The
apex bank also charged security agents to sustain their checks on the
activities of illegal foreign exchange operators in order to bring
sanity to that segment of the market.

“The
Committee reiterates that the extant foreign exchange regulation
outlaws the trafficking of currency on the streets as some unlicensed
operators currently do,’’ the CBN said.

Meanwhile,
a currency trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN  that
the raid on the market security agents had forced them to go
underground.

He noted that they still enjoy the patronage of their customers who understand their modus operandi.