BUSINESS

Naira rebounds as forex market lifted by $195m

Published

7 years ago

July 25, 2017

Oriyomi Olamiposi

Naira gains against dollar at investors window

The Nigerian currency, Naira on Tuesday rebounded at 365 to a dollar against 367 sold the previous day at the parallel market, afterthe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday, July 24, 2017 boosted liquidity in various segments of the inter-bank foreign exchange market with the total of $195 million.

The Naira, which had dropped on Monday to 474 to a Pound sterling against 470 traded over the weekend, sustained the rate and also remained unchanged at 420 to the Euro at the parallel market. At the official segment of the foreign exchange market, the local currency fell slightly to 305.75 per dollar against 305.80 traded on the first trading day of the week.

The Naira, at the Investors and Exporters FX window, opened at a more depreciated rate of 367.21 to the dollar, compared to 365.96 opened rate on Monday, representing a decline of 0.34 per cent, while closed at 369.50 against 366.37 sold the previous day, indicating a depreciation of 0.60 per cent.

Meanwhile, the CBN offered the sum of $100,000,000 as wholesale interventions and allocated the sum of $50,000,000 to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) forex window. The invisibles segment comprising Business/Personal Travel Allowances, tuition and medical fees, among others, received $45,000,000.

Confirming the figures, the Bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said the Bank continued to intervene in the inter-bank sector in order to ensure adequate liquidity in the market.

According to him, the CBN Management was quite pleased with the performance of the naira against other major currencies around the world, particularly now that the forex rates at both the inter-bank and BDC segments neared convergence.

Mr. Okorafor expressed optimism that the Bank’s intervention had put a check on the activities of speculators, just as he underscored the determination of the CBN in sustaining stability in the forex market through thorough monitoring of authorised dealers in order to reduce incidences of sharp practices.