CBN Injects $210m In wholesale, SMEs, others, FOREX Segments

By Joseph INOKOTONG

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Monday stepped up the supply of foreign exchange to ensure adequate liquidity to customers in various segments of the market, with another $210million to the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market.

In a statement, the CBN stated that about $100 million was offered to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises segment received about $55 million.

It pointed out that Customers requiring foreign exchange for invisibles, such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance, among others, were also allocated another $55 million.

The CBN spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor, reassured the public that the Bank would sustain its intervention in the interbank foreign exchange market in line with its commitment to keep the liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

Mr. Okorafor said the steps taken so far by the bank in the management of FOREX was paying off, as reflected by the reduction in the country’s import bills and accretion to its foreign reserves to five years high level of $46 billion as at last Friday, March 9, 2018.

It is pertinent to state that last Friday, as reported hy National Trail Newspaper, the CBN injected about $355.43 million into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).

Reacting positively to the various measures taken by the apex bank to maintain liquidity in the market, the Naira continued to show strength and stability in the FOREX market, exchanging at an average of N360 to the dollar in the bureau de change segment of the market on Monday.


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