In continuation of its intervention in the inter-bank sector of the foreign exchange (forex) market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has supported the market with another injection of $210 million into the market to meet the requests of customers.
A breakdown of the figures obtained from CBN on Tuesday, indicated that the CBN offered the sum of $100 million to authorized dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, just as it allocated the sum of $55 million each to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment and the invisibles segment to meet needs including tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.
Confirming the releases, the CBN’s Acting Director in charge of the Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, said the continued intervention by the Bank was in line with the Governor’s commitment to ensure liquidity in the market as well as reduce pressure on the naira.
Okorafor said that the CBN was pleased with the current market situation brought about by policies it had put in place to check forex speculators, round trippers and rent-seekers. According to him, these policies had helped to stabilize the exchange rate in addition to the establishment of the Investors-Exporters window, which had increased forex supply with over $20 billion inflow since its inception.
According to him, the Bank will not relent in its effort to manage the country’s forex with a view to reducing its import bills and checking any haemorhage of its foreign reserves.
The Naira, on Wednesday, depreciated to N360.16 to the dollar at the investor’s window, losing 70kobo from N360.09 traded on Tuesday.
Trading at the parallel market saw the Naira close at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N514 and N445, respectively.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the naira traded at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N514 and N445, respectively.
The Nigerian currency traded at N305.60 to the dollar at the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rate.
Currency traders decried low patronage at the market.
The introduction of the investors’ window had helped in boosting liquidity to the foreign exchange market, giving investors an opportunity to trade.
A recent report by KPMG titled “Top 10 Business Risks 2018/2019’’ noted that forex risk, among other risks, remained a threat to the nation’s economy.
According to the report, Nigeria is still behind the levels of foreign exchange liquidity generated from exports proceeds and capital flows in 2013, “in spite of improved terms of trade and significantly higher capital inflows, which helped ease forex availability and rate stability in 2017.’’