The Nigerian Naira was identified as one of the weakest currencies in sub-Saharan Africa by the World Bank in the August 2024 edition of Africa’s Pulse report.
The report revealed that the Naira’s performance was on par with the Ethiopian Birr and South Sudanese Pound in terms of depreciation in the region.
The depreciation was attributed to a sustained high demand for dollars and limited inflow of dollars into the economy, resulting in a 43% loss in value for the Naira by August.
By August 2024, the Ethiopian birr, Nigerian naira, and South Sudanese pound were among the worst performers in the region.
“The Nigerian naira continued losing value, with a year-to-date depreciation of about 43 percent as of end-August.
“Surges in demand for US dollars in the parallel market, driven by financial institutions, money managers, and non-financial end-users, combined with limited dollar inflows and slow foreign exchange disbursements to currency exchange bureaus by the central bank explain the weakening of the naira,” it said.
