Naira steadies at forex markets, as CBN injects $364m

Despite lifting the official foreign exchange market on Tuesday, with injection of $364 million by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the nation’s currency, naira, on Wednesday, remained unchanged at both the official and unofficial forex markets.

As at the close of daily trading activities on the official segment of the market, the local currency stood at 305.65 against the dollar, the same rate it traded on Tuesday but lower than 305.60 sold the preceding day.

However, the same scenario replicated itself at the parallel market yesterday, when the naira exchanged between 368 and 370 per dollar, the same range it traded in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt but closed at 369 in Kano the previous day.

Against Pound and Euro, the naira exchanged at 477, which was a depreciated rate from 475 closed on Tuesday, while losing two points to the euro recording new rate of 432 against 430 sold earlier in the week.

At the interbank market, it stabilized at 366.05 the rate it sold on Tuesday and Monday, while depreciated slightly against pound at 471.36 compared to 471.28 and 428.35, against 429.88 the previous day.

But extended gained points at the Investors &Exporters FX window, when it recorded a total 0.74 per cent as at close of yesterday market with closing rate of 359.69 to the dollar against 362.38 sold, which had opened at a better rate at 362.91 as against 363.25 of Tuesday.

Although, the turnover traded yesterday declined further to $93.21 million from $117.36m compared to an improved volume of $142.88m sold on Monday, FMDQ OTC data has revealed.

Meanwhile, the apex bank in a continued effort to sustain liquidity in the Forex Market had increased its usual $195 million injection into the market to $364m on Tuesday, to boost Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) with $264.1m, getting the largest allocation from the total injected fund.

Explaining the allocation of the injected FX, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said that $100m was offered to authorised dealers in the wholesale window; adding that the results for the requests sent to the CBN by authorised Forex dealers on behalf of their customers will be made available.

The bank remains committed to achieving a convergence of rates at the inter-bank and Bureau-de-Change segments of the market, he said.

It would be recalled that the CBN recently intervened in the wholesales, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisible windows to the tunes of $195m.