Banks submit dollar bids at N197

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged the commercial lenders to fund their naira accounts and submit bids for dollars at N197.

The apex bank had on Tuesday declared that  it would adopt a flexible exchange rate policy, a shift from a peg for the naira seen as overvalued, which had hampered investment.

The apex bank promised to  give guidance on the policy within days, creating uncertainty, traders say.

The bank has said it would introduce a flexible interbank market from a de facto peg of around N197 and retain a window for funding critical transactions, creating a dual exchange rate.

Traders said on Thursday’ morning (today) that it was not clear whether the bank will settle Thursday’s bid at N197, adding that quantity of dollars sold has been declining.

The central bank sold around $110 million last week, down from around $150 million previously, It was further learnt.

The bank did not say how much it would sell on Thursday.

The naira is trading around the pegged rate on the official interbank market on Thursday at N197.50 to the dollar but is quoted at N350 on the black market.

One-month Non-Deliverable Forwards (NDFs) showed the naira trading at N266 per dollar, after hitting N276 per dollar on Wednesday.