• CBN Boosts Forex Liquidity with Another $286m

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday deepened its effort at converging forex rates and prop up the Naira value by injecting forex into four sectors of the economy.

The apex bank sold a total of $285,759,449.10 into the interbank forex exchange market to meet demand in four different sectors.

Details of the transaction revealed that airlines, agricultural, raw materials and petroleum were the four sectors that received intervention from the central bank based on requests from their respective banks.

The central bank said in a statement it will continue to play its role in easing economic gridlock and deepen foreign exchange liquidity in the country.

Isaac Okorafor, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, said the intervention highlighted central bank commitment to transparency and forex stability.

Speaking further, he said the CBN will “continue to play its role in easing the foreign exchange pressure on manufacturing and agricultural sectors” through forex intervention and policy that aids economic activities.

Since the global oil glut eroded Nigeria’s foreign revenue, the CBN has consistently intervened in the foreign exchange market to ensure adequate liquidity, while simultaneously easing pressure on the Naira.

Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil rose to 2-year high on Friday following Saudi Prince support for production cuts extension to the end of 2018. Brent crude oil rose above $60 a barrel for the first time in 2 years as the market welcomes the development and needs for a viable exit strategy.

The Naira remained fairly stable, trading at N360 to the US dollar on the Bureau De Change segment on Friday. The same price it has been trading for since September.