CBN Sells $210m to Forex Traders to Sustain Liquidity

By Dipo Olowookere

Authorised foreign exchange (forex) traders in the country on Tuesday received the sum of $210 million auctioned to them by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This amount was sold to the authorised traders by the apex bank on Tuesday so as to sustain the supply of the foreign currency at the market.

The intervention is part of the strategies deployed by the central bank to ensure that the exchange rate of the local currency against the US Dollar remains stable at the market.

Director of Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, who confirmed this auction in a statement, said the efforts of the bank has helped to ensure the stability of the Naira and also increased the level of investors and public confidence in the economy.

According to him, the CBN had in the last intervention on July 26, injected the sum of $284.2 million and CNY36 million into the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment.

At yesterday’s intervention, Mr Okorafor said the sum of $100 million was allocated to authorised dealers in the wholesale sector of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the invisible segments were allocated the sum of $55 million each.

Mr Okorafor said the central bank will continue to ensure stability at the forex market, reassuring consumers of regular supply of the foreign currency when they need it.