CBN Pumps $995m Into Forex Market, Mulls New Retail Option

Posted on June 19, 2017

Following its $800 million intervention in the inter-bank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) Market last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, injected additional $195 million into the market to meet the requests of customers in the various segments of the market.

The acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor , said in a statement in Abuja that the bank would soon introduce a new FOREX retail option.

Giving a breakdown of funds injected on Monday, he said the apex bank offered $100 million to authourised dealers through interbank wholesale window, while it allocated $50 million to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window.

Okorafor said the invincibles segment was allocated $45 million to meet the needs of those who applied for FOREX to settle Business/Personal Travel Allowances, school tuition and medicals.

The CBN spokesperson said the bank would continue to ensure adherence to its forex policy by insisting on transparency by stakeholders to guarantee stability in the market.

The CBN made two major interventions in the inter-bank Forex market last week, totaling $831.5 million.

Since February 2017, the bank had boosted transactions at the Investors’ and Exporters’ segment of the market to the tune of $2.2 billion.

Also last week, the CBN, in a bid to tackle inflation, unveiled plan to mop up N200.32 billion from the Nigerian banking system through special Open Market Operation (OMO) at the rate of 16 per cent per annum.

Meanwhile, the Naira had continued to maintain its stability in the FOREX market, exchanging at an average of N364 to a dollar at the parallel segment of the market on Monday.
Meanwhile, the CBN is contemplating introducing a new FOREX retail option in  Nigeria.
However, Okorafor did not elaborate further on the proposed option.

(NAN)