Yemisi Izuora
The inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market has received the sum of $210million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.
In its determination to meet the customers’ needs in the sundry segments of the market, the CBN offered $100million 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, February 12 2018. The figures also indicated that customers needing 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.
The Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Mr. Isaac Okorafor, assured Nigerians that the Bank will 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 not renege on its promise to manage the forex with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and halting depletion of its foreign reserves.
It will be recalled that last Friday, February 9, 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had again intervened in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to the tune of $325.64 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, February 12, 2018.