By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, February 11, injected the sum of $210 million into the interbank segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market as part of its determination to boost liquidity in the sector.
A statement issued by the Director in charge of Corporate Communications Department at the apex bank, Mr Isaac Okorafor, stated that authorised dealers in the wholesome segment of the market received the larger share of $100 million, while those at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) received the sum of $55 million.
He further disclosed that customers who were seeking foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance among others, had a total of $55 million to meet their demand as authorised dealers in that segment were allotted the amount for such purpose.
The director reaffirmed CBN’s commitment to sustaining liquidity and ensuring stability in the market, saying this remains paramount on the mind of the management of the bank.
According to him, the continued intervention by CBN was in line with directives of the bank’s Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to guarantee access to all those who genuinely required foreign exchange from the forex market.
Business Post reported earlier this week that the bank last Friday (February 7), injected the sum of $218.41 million and CNY18 million into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales segment.
In view of this injection, the Naira remained stable on Tuesday at N306.90/$1 at the interbank segment; N358/$1 in the Bureau de Change (BDCs) segment of the market; N360/$1 at the black market while a dollar was exchanged for N364.90/$1 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the Forex market.
Dipo Olowookere