By Abiola Olawale
In a move aimed at addressing the persisting challenges in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold over $300m to financial institutions.
This was disclosed in a memo issued by the Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria.
In the memo, the CBN was said to have sold each dollar at the rate of $1,450. This, according to the memo, is a strategy by CBN is to inject much-needed liquidity into the market and stabilise the Naira’s value.
The memo read in part, “We are sure you must have been following up on activities in the foreign exchange market, with rates at the official market going as high as N1850/$.
“If you are not aware, kindly note that the CBN last week sold over $200m to the banks below N1,500/dollar. Similarly, this week, the CBN has on two consecutive days sold FX to banks at rates we understand to be in the $1,450 range. We hope this information helps guide your decisions regarding the rates and spreads you get from your banks.”
The New Diplomat reports that the naira had since been depreciating against the dollar, setting an all-time record low since the start of the year. Though the naira had depreciated to about N1800/$, recent reports indicate that the currency has been fighting back and has now appreciated against the dollar to 1,582/$ at the close of trading activities at the official market on Monday.
