Naira now 440 to a Dollar...

According to reports, the naira was yesterday sold at the parallel market for 440 per dollar, as the lingering foreign exchange scarcity increased to a new level.

The local currency, which closed at 436/dollar on Thursday, eased to 435 in the early hours of Friday.

The latest declines in the naira value started on Wednesday, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee retained the benchmark lending rate at 14 per cent.