The Nigerian naira recorded its highest depreciation against the dollar this week at the official foreign exchange market amid United States of America President, Donald Trump’s tariff announcement.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange data showed that it dropped to N1,552.53 per dollar on Thursday from N1,531.25 traded on Wednesday.
This means that the naira slumped by N21.28 against the dollar on Thursday compared to N1,531.25 exchanged the previous day.
This is the highest depreciation against the dollar on a single day since March 22, when the currency dropped by N18.96 weekly at the official market.
Similarly, at the black market, the naira weakened by N5 on Thursday to N1,560 per dollar from N1,555 traded on Wednesday.
The development comes despite CBN’s announcement that the country’s Net Foreign Exchange Reserve (NFER) as of the end of 2024 stood at $23.11 billion, the highest level in over three years.
The drop in the naira at both official and parallel foreign exchange markets follows Trump’s administration’s tariff announcement on Wednesday, which sparked outrage across the world.
Economic experts said Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariffs would affect US-Nigeria trade worth $10 billion.
The chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf on Thursday in a statement said Trump’s tariff would affect Nigeria’s economy because it has brought an end to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
“This could have implications for the naira exchange rate,” the CPPE chief stated.
