The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday sustained its ongoing intervention in the foreign exchange market with the injection of fresh $205 million into various segments of the market with a view to strengthen the Naira. This notwithstanding, the naira devalued to N379 per dollar in the parallel market.
The development was confirmed to vigil360 by the acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor in a statement made available to media men. According to the statement, The CBN again injected over $205 million into the foreign exchange market. A breakdown of intervention indicated that the sum of $100 million was released for the wholesale under the market segment for both spots and forwards. Also, Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) which comes under invisible segment garnered $50 million while the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) segment got $55million.
The apex bank urged market participants to abide by the rules to ensure the preservation of the country’s external reserves. The statement warned that the CBN would not tolerate unscrupulous practices by banks or their staff.
Meanwhile there are high hopes that the naira will appreciate today as the CBN is expected to sell $20,000 to each of the 3145 bureaux de change (BDC) operators today.
