Naira stable at N363/$1 as CBN sustains dollar intervention

By Odunewu Segun

Nigeria’s Naira has remained stable in the Forex market, exchanging at an average of N363/$1 in the Bureaux de Change segment of the market on Tuesday as the Central Bank of Nigeria pumped more dollar into the market, National Daily has gathered.
The apex bank confirmed the injection of another $418 million into various segments of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange (forex) market on Tuesday, a development that is set to give the Naira further lift in the market.
This is coming on the heels of a cumulative $2.2bn boost in the transactions at the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) segment of the market.
National Daily gathered from figures obtained from the CBN on Tuesday that the retail segment of the market received the highest intervention with a total of $226 million, followed by the wholesale window that received an allocation of $100million.
The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received a boost of $50 million while the invisibles segment, comprising Business/Personal Travel Allowances, school tuition, medicals, etc. was allocated the sum of $42 million to meet the demands of customers.
Confirming the figures, the apex bank’s spokesman, Isaac Okorafor disclosed that the volume of currency trading in the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) FX Window had cumulatively hit heights of $2.2 billion since the CBN introduced it on Friday, April 21, 2017 to boost liquidity in the forex market and ensure timely execution and settlement for eligible transactions.
He expressed confidence that the interventions will continue to guarantee stability in the market and ensure availability to individuals and business concerns.
The CBN only on Monday, June 12, 2017, injected the sum of $413.5 million into the inter-bank market in its unrelenting bid to guarantee liquidity in the market as well as shore up the international value of the naira.
A breakdown of Monday’s figures shows that the apex Bank offered the sum of $100 million to authorized dealers in the wholesale window, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window was allocated a total of $28 million. The invisibles segment was allocated the sum of $25.5 million to meet the needs of customers in that sector.