The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again intervened in the foreign exchange market as the external reserves of the country hit a three year high at $38.2 billion.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, in Lagos yesterday said the reserves of the country has grown from a low of $23 billion in 2016 to above $38 as at Tuesday on the inflow of increased foreign exchange through oil sales as the global oil price has been on a steady rise.
He noted further that the accruing reserves was also due to inflow from the Investors and Exporters window which has seen an inflow of over $10 billion since April when it was launched.
Meanwhile the apex bank said it had injected $210 million sustain liquidity in the forex market. Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor said the sum of $100 million was offered to the wholesale segment, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got an allocation of $55 million. The invisibles segment (i.e. tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others) was also allocated $55 million.
The Acting Director noted that the releases to successful bidders which have since been concluded are part of effort aimed at further enhancing ease of doing business in Nigeria. Hence, beside boosting liquidity in the forex market, facilitating trade and remittances for legitimate personal commitments are also expected to improve tremendously.
Speaking on market conduct, Okorafor enjoined authorized dealers to abide by the extant rules of the forex market as CBN would continue intensify monitoring of the market.
Meanwhile, the naira maintained its steady rate against the United States Dollar, exchanging for N361 to the dollar in the BDC segment of the market on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.
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