Exchange rate remained strong as naira traded around N360 and N362 against the dollar at the investors and exporters forex window (I&E) and black market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, 23rd March, 2018 sustained its intervention in the Forex market by injecting the sum of $339.89 million in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).
The CBN spot rate opened the week at N305.70/US$1.00 and remained unchanged throughout the week. At the parallel market, the Naira appreciated N1.00 at the start of the week to close at N362.00/US$1.00 and traded at similar level all week.
Disclosing the development to newsmen in Abuja the Bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, noted that the continued interventions were in line with the pledge made by the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to sustain market liquidity in order to boost production and trade.
the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) rate opened the week at (N360.16/US$1.00) and traded flat till mid-week before appreciating 13 kobo on Thursday to close at N360.03/US$1.00. The rate depreciated 5 kobo on Friday and closed the week at N360.08/US$1.00, up 8 kobo Week-on-Week.
Activity level in the I & E window weakened as cumulative weekly turnover measured on Thursday stood at US$839.3m, down 40.7 percent (US$576.7m) from US$1.4bn recorded the same period of the prior week.
According to Okorafor, the feedback from the wholesale and retail segments of the Nigerian Forex markets showed that customers were satisfied with their level of access to foreign exchange. He also assured Nigerians that the recent confirmation of Deputy Governors and Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) nominees by the Senate will further spur the Bank towards taking sound decisions needed for economic development.
Details obtained from the Bank indicate that the amount released was for requests in the agricultural, airlines, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.
It will be recalled that last Friday, 19th March, 2018, the Bank injected the sum of $210 into the Wholesale segment of the forex market.
Meanwhile, the naira exchanged at N362/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Friday, March 23, 2018.
“We expect rates to continue trading within tight bands as we remain confident of the Apex bank’s ability to sustain FX interventions, considering sustained increase in external reserves (US$45.4bn as at Wednesday this week) and strong autonomous capital inflows”, analysts at Afrinvest Securities limited said.
Hope Moses-Ashike
