CBN Strengthens Forex Market With $210m

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the sum of $210 million into different segments of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market.

Isaac Okorafor, the CBN’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, who confirmed the figures on Tuesday, said the latest intervention is in continuation of the Bank’s commitment to maintain stability in the market as well as enhance production and trade.

A breakdown of the Bank’s latest round of intervention indicates that the CBN offered the sum of $100 million to dealers in the wholesale window, while those in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received an allocation of $55 million.

The invisibles segment, comprising Business/Personal Travel Allowances, school tuition, medicals, was allocated the sum of $55 million.

Okorafor said the monetary regulator was pleased with the cooperation by players in the inter-bank market, which he noted had enjoyed a great deal of stability and seamless access of customers to foreign exchange following regular interventions by the apex Bank.

The CBN director was upbeat that the first Monetary Policy meeting (MPC) of the CBN billed for early next month will boost the monetary policy activities of the Bank.

He further urged Nigerians to remain optimistic about the economic outlook for 2018, stressing that the Bank remained people-centred.

It will be recalled that the CBN had last Friday, sustained its intervention in the Forex market by injecting the sum of $339.89 million in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).

Meanwhile, the Naira as of Tuesday, March 27, 2018, exchanged against the dollar at N360/$1 on the Bureau De Change segment of the market.