CBN Injects Fresh $308.5m into Forex Market

By Obinna  Chima

Fear of herdsmen attack has gripped Ndiolumbe Nvosi community of Isiala Ngwa local government, Abia State following the refusal of herdsmen to vacate farm lands, insisting that it was their right to choose where to graze their cattle. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange (forex) market as it intervened once more yesterday with $308.5m.

This move was expected to further ensure liquidity and stability in the forex market.

The CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, who gave the figures in Abuja, announced that the latest intervention of the CBN in the retail segment was part of the regular interventions of the central bank, in line with its commitment to sustain liquidity to meet genuine requests in the market.

While warning against speculations in the market, Okorafor said the CBN had put necessary checks in place to guard against the activities of speculators. 

He stressed the determination of the Bank to continue its forex intervention. 

He urged genuine users of foreign exchange to approach their banks, as the banks had enough forex to meet their demand.  

While the naira went for N360 to the dollar on the Bureau De Change segment, it closed at N364 to the dollar on the parallel market yesterday.

The central bank had opened the week with a boost of $195 million. 

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele had at Tuesday’s Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC), noted the continuing improvement in Nigeria’s external reserves position and the equities segment of the capital market, adding that the foreign reserves position grew to US$32.9 billion at the close of business on September 25, while the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 7.20 per cent from 33,117.48 on June 30 to 35,504.62 on August 31.

“Total foreign exchange inflows through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rose by 1.98 per cent in August 2017, compared with the previous month. Similarly, total outflow increased by 7.03 per cent during the same period as a result of increased international remittances, inclusive of public sector and JVC payments, which rose by 58.59 per cent in the period under review,” Emefiele had said.

The MPC, observed the trend towards convergence between the rates at the bureau-de-change (BDC) segment of the FX market and the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) segment, as well as the stability of the exchange rate at the inter-bank segment of the FX market during the review period.

“Similarly, the committee noted the success of the Investors’ and Exporters’ window (I &E) of the foreign exchange market and traced this not only to foreign investor confidence but also to the zeal and commitment of Nigerian exporters who have demonstrated preference for the window to the parallel market.

“The committee observed that the I&E window has increased liquidity and boosted confidence in the market with over US$7 billion inflow in the last five months.

“The committee will continue to introduce policies that will improve the confidence of foreign investors in the country’s macroeconomic management regime,” he said.