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HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
Nigeria’s currency, the naira, appreciated on Wednesday, against the U.S dollar by N09.31k as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected a total of $210 million into the foreign exchange market.
The development is in continuation of the CBN’s interventions in the inter-bank sector of the Foreign Exchange market to meet the requests of customers.
After trading on Wednesday, the naira closed at N360.16k per dollar, gaining 0.09 percent over the level of N360.47k/$ traded the previous day at the investors and exporters forex window, data from FMDQ show.
The naira appreciated by a marginal 0.01 percent, as it closed at N360.00k per dollar on Wednesday from N360.04k on Tuesday.
The naira was stable at the CBN official window, quoting at N305.60k to the dollar, the same level it has traded since three weeks ago.
A breakdown of the figures obtained from the Bank in Abuja on Tuesday, April 18, 2018, indicates that the CBN offered the sum of $100 million to authorised 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 tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.
Confirming the releases, the CBN 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 ensuring liquidity in the market, as well as reducing 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 stabilise 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 hemorrhage of its foreign reserves.
The CBN, in its last intervention on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 intervened to the tune of $210 million to cater for requests in the various segments of the forex market.
Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
