CBN Injects $289.76m, CNY 38.70m Into Retail SMIS

• CBN Injects $289.76m, CNY 38.70m Into Retail SMIS

The Central Bank of Nigeria, following its maiden Monetary Policy Committee meeting for 2019, injected $289.76m into the retail secondary market intervention sales and CNY38.70m into the spot and short- tenored forwards segment of the inter-bank foreign market.

The Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor, noted that the dollar-denominated interventions were for transactions in the agricultural and raw materials sectors.

He said, on-the-spot and short- tenored sales in Chinese Yuan were similarly for the payment of Renminbi-denominated Letters of Credit for agriculture and raw materials based on bids received from authorised dealers.

Okorafor reiterated the bank’s support to the inter-bank foreign exchange market, saying, “The management of the CBN is pleased with the level of stability at both the Bureau de Change and the investors’ and exporters’ window of the foreign exchange market.

“The bank is also satisfied with the current implementation of the bilateral currency swap agreement with the Peoples Bank of China, coupled with a recent inflow of about $2.8bn Eurobond.”

Okorafor expressed confidence that the foreign exchange market in Nigeria would continue to enjoy stability in the coming months and beyond, given the marginal increase in the country’s external reserves.

The CBN had earlier injected $210m into the wholesale, small and medium enterprises and invisibles windows of the inter-bank foreign exchange market on January 17.

Meanwhile, $1 exchanged for N361 at the BDC segment of the foreign exchange market, while CNY1 exchanged for N53.