By Patience Egumba
Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has given a boost to its foreign exchange market with a fresh injection of $210 million into the foreign exchange market. This would be the first intervention by the apex Bank for the year 2019.
Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has been facing a lot of volatility lately as a result of the general elections which is scheduled for February this year, less than six weeks away. The Central bank has however assured investors of a stable exchange regime irrespective of the political situation.
The CBN director of corporate communications, Isaac Okorafor who spoke to daybreak, on the issue over the weekend said that the wholesale segment of the market received $100 million, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector received $55 million.
Okorafor also revealed that the CBN allocated the sum of $55 million to customers requiring foreign exchange for business and personal travels, tuition or medical fees.
The CBN spokesman said that the bank will continue to support the foreign exchange market in order to maintain forex availability and stability.
He maintained that the CBN will do everything necessary to keep exchange rates at current levels and assured investors that there would be no volatility in the market as the bank has what it takes to defend the Naira, irrespective of capital flow reversals.
“The CBN is determined to sustain a stable exchange rate as it continues to put in place relevant measures to shore up the country’s reserves,” Okorafor said.
Naira opens 2019 trading on a good note
The Naira, Nigeria’s local currency, closed at N361 to the dollar over the weekend and appreciated by one naira against the US dollar at the parallel market. This represents a 0.55% appreciation from the average of N363 it traded in 2018.
