Encouraged by the seeming positive impact of its latest interventions, particularly stability in the nation’s foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, offered the sum of $100 million to enable authorized dealers meet the demand of their wholesale customers at the forex auction in the interbank wholesale window.
Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, noted that no intervention was made in the retail window at Wednesday’s auction, instead, he said, the apex bank continued its weekly sale of forex to the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment to meet the needs of low-end users.
He said the CBN had observed with satisfaction that quite a good number of dealers were adhering to its forex guidelines, and that it would continue to monitor activities of authorized dealers to ensure that no outfit or individual circumvents laid down forex rules.
While urging all concerned to put the Nigerian economy first, Okoroafor reiterated the apex bank’s determination to guarantee the international value of the naira, which is one of its core mandates.
Meanwhile, reports gathered in Abuja and Lagos on Thursday indicate the Naira sold at the rate of N380/$1.
Online portal, abokifx.com, which tracks daily Naira exchange rate against major currencies such as the US$, British Pounds and the Euro, indicates that while the Naira sold for N388/$ on Thursday morning, it lost N2 by noon, where it closed for the day at N390/$. The British Pound sold at N495 throughout the day; while the Naira, which opened at N420 each against the Euro, appreciated to N415 each to close the day.