The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, January 12, 2018, carried out its maiden intervention in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) in the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market for the year with the total sum of $262.5m.
Data received from the CBN revealed that the sum was in favour of the agricultural, airlines, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.
According to the Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications at the CBN confirmed the figures, noting that the releases remained targeted at boosting production and trade in addition to sustaining liquidity in the market.
The CBN, he assured, would not relent in its resolve to make the inter-bank forex market liquid, just as it remains committed to driving economic growth and guaranteeing stability in the market.
Okorafor also reiterated that the CBN’s intervention had effectively checked the activities of speculators, assuring that the Bank would continue to monitor, thoroughly, the activities of authorised dealers in order to checkmate possible sharp practices.
Meanwhile, the Naira exchanged at N359 to a United States dollar on Friday, January 12, 2018, maintaining its stability in the market.