The Nigerian naira, at close of trading on Wednesday, depreciated to N707 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market amid increased demand for dollars.
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The figure represents N5 or 0.7 percent depreciation compared to the N702 it traded a week ago.
Currency traders known as Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), who we contacted in Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the dollar at N700 and the selling price at N707 per dollar.
Sterling fell 0.64% to $1.145 on Wednesday afternoon – a level not seen in 37 years.
The Bank of England said a weaker outlook for the UK economy as well as a stronger dollar were putting pressure on sterling.
Governor Andrew Bailey also warned that little could be done to stop the UK falling into a recession this year as the war in Ukraine continued.
A parallel market (street market) is characterised by noncompliant behaviour with an institutional set of rules.
At the official market side, the naira depreciated by 0.29 percent to close at N436 to a dollar on Tuesday, according to data on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign-exchange trading in Nigeria.
Last month, the apex bank called on private sector operators to repatriate foreign exchange (FX) earnings through official channels to ease the pressure on the naira.
