The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday announced the sale of foreign exchange in what it says is in line with ongoing reforms aimed at checking what it called observed distortions at the retail end, and achieve an appropriate market determined exchange for the nation’s embattled currency- the Naira.

Under the arrangement, and ahead of its next Monetary Policy Committee meeting which begins on Monday, the CBN will sell US$20,000 to each Bureaux de Change (BDCs) at the rate of N1,450/$, which is the lower band of the trading rate at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) in the previous trading day.

The circular titled “sale of foreign exchange to BDCs to meet retail market demand for eligible invisible transaction,” and signed by A.A. Mahdi for the Acting Director, Trade & Exchange Department, allows BDCs “to sell to eligible end-users at a margin not more than 1.5% above the purchase rate from the CBN.”

The circular directed such eligible BDCs “to make the Naira payment to the listed CBN Naira deposit account numbers and submit confirmation of payment with other necessary documentation for disbursement at the appropriate CBN branches” in Abuja, Awka, Kano and Lagos.