By Abiola Olawale
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday, has disclosed that there has been a total of $1.5bn inflow into the Nigerian economy.
The Bank’s Acting Director of the Corporate Communications Department, Hakama Ali, made this known on Friday, asserting that the development indicates the CBN’s monetary policy efforts are working.
She further disclosed that data available to the bank indicated that the inflows resulted from a concerted effort to stabilize the foreign exchange market.
According to her, the naira has also continued to record gains in the Autonomous Foreign Exchange market, as it traded at N1,309/$1 as against N1,611/$1 in the second week of March 2024.
While noting that Thursday’s rate signified that the naira was headed in the right direction, she assured that the Yemi Cardoso-led CBN remained committed to ensuring the market’s stability, and the appropriate pricing of the naira against other major currencies worldwide.
The New Diplomat reports that this latest development comes on the heels of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announcement of a two-percent increase in its benchmark rate, from 22.75 percent to 24.75 percent on March 26, 2024.
Announcing the rate during a post-meeting briefing, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said the bank’s decision was intended to stabilize the economy by bringing the interest rate at par with the current inflation in the country, stating that the increase would not be long.
The apex bank had also conducted the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) auction of N1.64trn on March 27, 2024, at stop rates of 16.24 percent, 17 percent, and 21.124 percent for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors, respectively.
