Just as it promised some weeks ago to meet all genuine foreign exchange demands made on behalf of bank customers, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday said it successfully concluded transactions on the $100 million offered Thursday at the interbank market, with authorized dealers only able to pick $81.347 million after an initial bid for $91 million at the wholesale auction.
Already, indications around the Abuja and Lagos axis indicate that the Naira sustained its bullish ride against major currencies, especially the US$, which exchanged at an average of N385/$1, triggering further apprehension among speculators, who anticipate further losses given the continued crash of the dollar.
The Naira also closed at N307 to the US$ on Friday and the parallel market rate continuing its slide, confirming the optimism of CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to achieve the convergence of Forex rates between the Interbank and the BDCs markets appears to gain more ground.
Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, attributed the inability of authorized dealers to pick up the entire offer to increasing Dollar supply and sense of apprehension among dealers who anticipate a further crash in the rate of the dollar.
It would be recalled that the CBN had some weeks ago urged those hoard the greenback and other major currencies to bring them out, or risk suffering huge losses, with the new resolve to defend the Naira, being one of its major functions.
Okoroafor reiterated the determination of the Bank to sustain its current interventions in the market, noting that “those who doubt the capacity of the Bank to sustain the intervention in the FOREX market are beginning to have a change of mind”.