The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has carried out another intervention in the foreign exchange market, selling over $148 million to 29 authorised dealers in a bid to ensure liquidity and ease demand pressure.
According to a statement posted on the CBN’s website, the dollar sales were carried out on Monday, July 22 and Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
The apex bank disclosed that the forex was sold to banks and BDC operators at an exchange rate of N1,470/$1 and N1,510/$1, Punch reports.
The statement read:
It added that the apex bank also purchased $2 million from one authorised dealer bank at the rate of 1,505.00/$.
Despite CBN’s efforts, the naira’s performance remains weak in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Data from FMDQ Securities shows that the naira’s latest exchange rate is N1,609.29/$1 as of Friday, July 26, 2024, representing a decline of N5.49 or 0.34% compared with the preceding dayâs rate of N1,603.80/$1.
Reacting to the CBN’s latest sale, financial analyst Kelvin Umemi is optimistic that the naira will improve.
Earlier, TimesNow.com.ng reported that the CBN asked Nigerians to expect the value of the Nigerian currency to improve in the coming months.
The apex bank said increasing domestic crude oil production and exports would enhance the naira’s value.
The CBN recently conducted another round of forex sales and reiterated its determination to tackle depreciation of the naira.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
