CBN pumps $210m to Forex Market

By Joseph INOKOTONG

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected $210 million to boost the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market.
With the sum, customers’ requests would be met in various segments of the market.
Maintaining the momentum, and in its quest to meet the customers’ needs in the sundry segments of the market, the CBN offered $100 million to authorized dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got the sum of $55 million, according to figures obtained from the Bank on Monday.
The figures also indicated that customers in need of foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were also allocated the sum of $55 million.
Mr. Isaac Okorafor, the Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), reiterated the Bank’s determination to continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market, in line with its pledge to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.
According to Mr. Okorafor, the CBN will continue to manage the forex with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and minimize depletion of foreign reserves.
It will be recalled that in the past week, the CBN intervened in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to the tune of $210 million, to cater for requests in the airlines, agricultural, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.
Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the FOREX market, exchanging at an average of N361/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Monday.