CBN Strengthens Forex Market With $210m

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, 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 said the latest intervention is meant to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

According to Okorafor, the Bank offered the total sum of $100million to the wholesale segment, while the SMEs segment received the sum of $55 million.

“In its quest to meet the customers’ needs in the sundry segments of the market, the CBN offered $100million to authorized dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got the sum of $55 million, according to figures obtained from the Bank on Monday, January 22, 2018,” Okorafor said.

According to the figures, the invisibles segment comprising tuition, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were allocated the sum of $55 million.

The CBN spokesperson reiterated the Bank’s determination to continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market so as to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

According to him, the apex Bank will continue to manage the forex with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and halting accretion to its foreign reserves.

It will be recalled that in the past week, the CBN intervened in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to cater for requests in the airlines, agricultural, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.

Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the FOREX market, exchanging at an average of N361/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Monday, January 22, 2018.