Naira Grows At Most Market Segments on CBN $545m Boost

By Cowry Asset

In the just concluded week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected $545 million into various segments of the interbank foreign exchange market.

The Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) received $285 million, the Wholesale SMIS was boosted with $100 million, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received $90 million while the Invisibles segment received $70 million.

Furthermore, as at 14 September 2017, Nigeria’s foreign reserve stood at $31.88 billion. Consequently, the interbank market (NIFEX) exchange rates remained unchanged at N330/$.

In other segments, the Naira appreciated week-on-week (w-o-w) at the Bureau De Change segment and Parallel market by 0.55 percent and 0.54 percent to N363 and N367 respectively; however, at the I&E FX Window, the Naira depreciated by 0.01 percent to N360.39.

In the forwards market, the spot contract appreciated w-o-w by 0.03% to N305.85/$ from N305.95/$.

Similarly, the 3-month and 6-month forwards contracts appreciated by 0.13 percent and 1.06 percent to N378.18/$ and N397.60/$ respectively.

However, the 12-month forward contract depreciated by 2.17 percent to N439.68/$.

This week, we expect further stability of the Naira/USD exchange rate amid rising global crude oil prices and sustained build-up in foreign reserves plus CBN’s continued intervention in the various segments of the interbank foreign exchange market.