On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) boosted the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market with $210million.
CBN confirmed that $100million was apportioned to authorized dealers in the wholesale segment of the market. $55million was given to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), while $55million was allotted to “invisibles” which include tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA).
Mr Isaac Okorafor, CBN acting director, Corporate Communications Department, restated that the bank would continue efforts to sustain the foreign exchange intervention.
On the parallel market segments of the market and Bureau De Change, the naira exchanged at an average of N362 to the dollar.
For over six months the naira has been trading at N360 to the dollar on the Investors’ and Exporters’ window. This was after the apex bank in April 2017 liberalized the currency for investors since the oil crisis that slashed government revenue.
However, traders have blamed companies seeking to repatriate dividends, investors book profit from local assets and importers buying goods abroad for putting pressure on the naira, which weakened the currency.
Photo Credit: Market Watch
