The naira is set to extend its gains against the dollar on the parallel market this week as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to inject more forex into the market to meet the requests of genuine customers, New Telegraph has learnt. Owing to the CBN’s almost daily intervention in the forex market in recent weeks, the local currency has been steadily rising against the dollar, appreciating from N455/$ on Friday, to N448 per greenback on Saturday.
Analysts point out that the apex bank has, so far, kept to its pledge to continue to supply enough forex to guarantee liquidity in the forex market since it unveiled new forex measures a month ago.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, told New Telegraph at the weekend, that the regulator was committed to ensuring that the authorized dealers got sufficient supply to meet the demands of authentic customers of banks.
While disclosing that the CBN had, since last month, offered over $1 billion to the interbank market, he expressed optimism that stability had been restored to the market, with individuals now being able to easily access forex to address personal and business allowances.
He pointed out that a summary of the CBN interventions in the interbank market over the past two months, shows the highest bid rate was N360/$1, while the lowest was N315/$1.
It will be recalled that the banking watchdog announced last Tuesday that it released the sum of $195 million comprising $150 million for the wholesale auction and $45 million in the invisible segment for such items as medical fees, tuition fees, Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) and Business Travel Allowance (BTA).Also, last Wednesday, it sold a total of $150 million to authorized forex dealers in the interbank market at the highest bid rate of N335/$1 and a marginal rate of N320/$1.
Similarly, on Thursday, it announced a fresh offer for $100 million in currency forwards even as it also on the same day, approved dollar sales to more Bureaux De Change (BDCs). According to the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the CBN cleared 3,124 BDCs for last week’s $25 million auction by international money transfer firm, Travelex, at N381 per dollar, compared with the 3,114 BDCs it approved the previous week.
In a report last week, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Mr. Bismark Rewane, said the CBN’s frequent injection of dollars into the interbank in the last few weeks had led to a narrowing of the gap between the parallel and official rates.
