TheCable

The rates of the Nigerian naira at the parallel market is gradually closing in on the official rates set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the bank pumps fresh $413.5 million into the forex market.

At the parallel market on Monday, the naira, which hovered around 365 per  dollar, traded as low as a record 362, just about N2 away from the CBN official rate of N360 per dollar for invisibles.

The CBN said its recent intervention in the inter-bank foreign exchange market to the tune of $413.5 million, underscores its resolve to guarantee liquidity in the market as well as shore up the international value of the naira.

Giving a breakdown of the bank’s latest round of intervention, Isaac Okorafor, the CBN acting director in charge of corporate communications, disclosed that the CBN offered the sum of $100 million to dealers in the wholesale window, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window was allocated a total of $28 million.

The invisibles segment was allocated the sum of $25.5 million to meet the needs of those requiring forex for Business/Personal Travel Allowances, school tuition, medicals, etc.

According to Okorafor, the Bank also yesterday released the figures for the auction sales in the retail window last week, totaling $260million.

The CBN spokesperson said the Bank was optimistic that the naira will continue its strong run against the dollar and other major currencies around the world, considering that transparency in the market has ensured greater stability.

On the Bank’s objective to achieve convergence between the forex rates at both the inter-bank and BDC segments, Okorafor said the CBN was confident of achieving the goal soon, particularly if all stakeholders played by the rules.

He therefore charged all dealers, principally licensed bureaux de change (BDCs), to abide by the rule, for the sake of the economy.