CBN boosts FOREX market with $210m

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday intervened in the inter-bank sector of the foreign exchange market with a $210 million boost to the wholesale and other segments of the market.

Spokesperson of the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said in a statement sent that the injection of the foreign exchange into the market was one of the closing activities of the apex bank for the year at the resumption of normal business after the Christmas and Boxing Day festivities.

Okorafor said the wholesale sector of the market got a liquidity boost with $100 million, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as invisibles sectors each received $55 million.

According to him, “Thursday’s FOREX interventions are in continuation of the Bank’s resolve aimed at sustaining the high level of stability in the FOREX market and to continually ease access to the currency by customers in the different sectors” .

He lauded players in the various sectors of the FOREX market for their contributions to the prevailing stability.

Okorafor said in spite of activities of speculators, the central bank was ready to play its interventionist role in the market.

The CBN in its previous interventions earlier in December 2018 injected about $299.82 million and Chinese CNY 143.60 million into the retail secondary market intervention sales (SMIS).

With $1 exchanging for about N360 in the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market, the CBN said stability in the market will continue into the New Year and beyond.