As the monetary authorities were meeting in Abuja on Monday to review the impact of policies in an effort to stabilise the market and strengthen the value of the national currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the umpteenth time injected a total of $180 million into the foreign exchange market.
The CBN spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor, said the offer, through the inter-bank window, was to enable banks meet bids for wholesale auction and requests for invisibles such as medical and school fees as well as personal/basic travel allowances, which got an allocation of about $80 million.
Mr. Okorafor, who confirmed the fresh injection of forex to the market, said the wholesale requests would be settled on Tuesday.
He said the Central Bank was optimistic that its continued intervention would impact on the value of the Naira, which has continued to strengthen in the foreign exchange market against other international currencies, including the dollar, pound and euro.
The spokesperson of the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said this on Monday in Lagos.
He said the bank was committed to ensuring that authorised dealers get sufficient supply to meet the demands of authentic customers of banks.
“The CBN has so far met all the legitimate demands for FOREX from genuine customers All legitimate customers should therefore approach the CBN with their complaints should they be unfairly denied access,” Mr. Okorafor said.
“We would ensure sustainable FOREX liquidity and transparency in the process to enable as many customers as possible to get access to the foreign exchange they genuinely demand.
Since February when the bank began its intervention in the inter-bank market, over $1.5 billion has been injected, in an effort to stabilize the market and boost the value of the Naira.
The CBN intervention in the market on Monday helped lift the rate of the Naira as it continued to extend its gains against the dollar at the parallel market, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The Nigerian currency exchanged at N440 (buying rate) and N445 (Selling rate) to a dollar, from N445/N450 it traded on Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N530 and N465.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira exchanged at N398 (buying rate) and N400 (selling rate), while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N545 and N480.
Trading at the interbank market showed that the Naira closed at N307.50 to a dollar.