CBN Injects $210m into Forex Market

• CBN Injects $210m into Forex Market

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has boosted the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market with $210 million injection. The fund will be used to meet customers’ forex demands in various segments of the market.

The CBN offered $100 million to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got $55 million, according to figures obtained from the bank yesterday.

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 allocated the sum of $55 million.

The bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, reiterated the lender’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 him, the CBN will continue to manage the forex with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and minimize depletion of foreign reserves.

The CBN had in the past week, 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 Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the market on Monday, January 22.