Wholesale market, others get $210m forex boost

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sustained its intervention in the inter-bank foreign exchange market by injecting yet another $210 million into various sums of the market.
CBN at Tuesday’s trading, offered the sum of $100,000,000 as wholesale interventions and allocated the sum of $55,000,000 each for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) forex window and the invisibles sector, for customers requiring forex for Business/Personal Travel Allowances, tuition and medical fees, among others.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the figures in Abuja, saying that the bank was pleased at the performance of the naira.
Okorafor noted that the currency had continued to enjoy stability against the dollar and other major currencies of the world in recent times.
He reassured the public that the apex bank would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market in line with its resolve to ensure liquidity in the forex market and maintain stability.
The bank’s spokesman reiterated that the steps taken by the CBN in forex management had resulted in further reduction in the country’s import bills and accretion to its foreign reserves.
The Daily Times recalled that the CBN last Friday, intervened in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to the tune of $327 million in the agricultural and raw materials and CNY 69 million in the spot and short-tenored forwards.
The naira continued to maintain its strong stand against major currencies around the globe, exchanging for N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Tuesday, August 14, 2018.
Meanwhile, the CBN will on August 15, 2018, sensitize stakeholders in Abuja and the adjoining States on the Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement between the CBN and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) signed on April 27, 2018.