CBN: Naira Falls 51.5% Against Dollar Under Cardoso

The Central Bank of Nigeria reports that the Naira has fallen by 51.5% against the dollar in the past year under Cardoso’s leadership. Explore the implications of this decline.

Under the leadership of Governor Olayemi Cardoso of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the value of the Naira in Nigeria fell by 51.5 percent versus the US dollar at the official market in the previous year.

This occurs on September 15, 2023, the day Cardoso was appointed, marking one year in office.

Despite many interventions by the Cardoso-led CBN, the Naira’s performance against the dollar in the foreign exchange market is far from impressive.

This comes as the Naira fell from N747.76 recorded in the same period last year to N1,541.52 per dollar on September 22, 2024, according to data from the FMDQ.

To battle inflation, which stood at 32.15 percent in August 2024, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Cardoso, hiked the monetary policy rate (MPR) four times during that period, to 26.75 percent.

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To decide whether to hike interest rates or to halt the increase, the MPC is now meeting.

In the meantime, data from the CBN in recent months indicated that as of September 19, 2024, the nation’s external reserves had reached a 22-month high of $37.39 billion.

Notwithstanding the measures implemented by the Cardoso-led CBN, Nigerians are still suffering from the hard economic realities brought on by skyrocketing food prices and rising energy bills.