Naira Sells At N380/$, As CBN Targets Convergence

Ahead of the two-day meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which opens Monday, the Naira continued its strong run against the United States Dollar at the weekend, selling at N380/$ at the parallel market, as against the N390/$ it exchanged for about a week.
This underscored the apex bank’s resolve to achieve convergence of rates at the interbank and Bureau de Change segments, with Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Travelex rates remaining unchanged, at the N362 threshold.
Analysts believe this would boost the Nigerian economy and reposition it for even greater gains in the coming weeks, helped by the resolve by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sustain liquidity in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
Meanwhile, a source at the CBN said it remained committed to ensuring a convergence of forex rates and that the recent gains recorded are sustained, as it continues to make necessary interventions to ensure the stability of the Naira. The source stressed that the windows established for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as for investors and exporters continued to yield the desired results by providing access to forex and easing pressure on the market.
Corroborating this, Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor reiterated the bank’s commitment to ensure that there is enough supply of forex to genuine customers to achieve the goal of forex rates convergence.
It will be recalled that at the last MPC meeting of the Bank in March, the Governor, Godwin Emefiele stressed that one of the objectives of the Bank was to achieve a convergence of the rates in the various segments of the market.
As the MPC meets on Monday, May 22 and Tuesday, May 23, 2017, watchers are expectant to see what new measures and rates the MPC plans to unfold in its goal of ensuring stability in the financial system.