Buoyed by the impact of its interventions and stability in the foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offered the sum of $100 million to authorised dealers to meet the requests of wholesale customers at the forex auction in the interbank wholesale window.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said that no intervention was made in the retail window in yesterday’s auction.
He, however, disclosed that the Bank continued its weekly sale of forex to the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment to meet the needs of low-end users. He said that the CBN had observed that quite a good number of dealers were adhering to the forex guidelines. Nevertheless, he said the CBN will continue to monitor the activities of authorised dealers to ensure that no outfit or individual circumvents the laid down forex rules.
While urging all concerned to put the Nigerian economy first, he reiterated that the CBN was determined to guarantee the international value of the Naira.
Meanwhile, in Abuja and Lagos on Thursday the Naira sold at the rate of N380/$1.
The CBN said it has eliminated “frivolous demand” for foreign currency by introducing a multiple exchange rate system and has been intervening on the spot and forward markets to boost liquidity.
Mr. Isaac Okorafor said the multiple exchange rates was aimed at improving dollar supply while allowing investors to trade their own dollars at a more market-determined rate.
The CBN had said it would allow market forces to set exchange rate for portfolio investors, a move intended to attract foreign investors.
The naira traded at N305.85 to the dollar on the interbank market on Thursday. It was quoted at N379.89 on investors’ window.
The central bank has been intervening aggressively on the spot and forward markets to defend the Naira. On Thursday it offered $63 million to bureaux de change at N360 to the dollar and auctioned another $100 million in forwards.
