The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Monday continued its intervention in the inter-bank foreign Exchange market with the injection of $195million, even as naira depreciated to N360.50 per dollar in the Investor and Exporters (I & E) Foreign Exchange, forex window.
Data from the Financial Market Derivative Quote, FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for the I &E forex Window, known as Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange , NAFEX depreciated to N360.50 per dollar yesterday from Friday’s closing market rate which stood at N360.41 per dollar. This translated to 9 kobo depreciation.
In the parallel market, the naira, remained unchanged at N360 per dollar at which it traded on Friday. Meanwhile, figures released by the CBN showed that it offered the total sum of $100million to the wholesale segment, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment received the sum of $50 million. The invisibles segment, comprising tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, received $45 million. Confirming the figures, the Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communication Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor,said the injection was in line with the CBN’s pledge of making the Forex market liquid. Mr. Okorafor reiterated that the apex bank remained determined to achieve its objective of rates convergence, hence the consistent intervention in the foreign exchange market. He urged Deposit Money Banks to only honour requests from customers with genuine needs, noting that the Bank does not intend to falter in its pledge to ensure liquidity in the forex market.
- Courtesy,Vanguard