CBN Injects $205 Million into Forex Market

Oru Leonard

The interbank segment of the Foreign Exchange Market has received a boost of $205 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following the sales concluded on Tuesday, May 7, 2019.

Figures obtained from the CBN indicated that authorized dealers in the wholesale segment of the market were offered the sum of $100million, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment received the sum of $55 million. The sum of $50 million was allocated to customers requiring foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.

The Director, Corporate Communications Department, Central bank of Nigeria, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, in confirming the transactions, disclosed that the effort of the bank had helped to stem fluctuations in the exchange rate. This, according to him, had increased the level of confidence investors and the public had in the Naira.

It will be recalled that on Friday, May 3, 2019, the Bank injected the sum of $271.8million and CNY41.1million into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment.

Meanwhile, the Naira on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, exchanged at an average of N361/$1 in the BDC segment of the market.