The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, March 23, 2017 offered the sum of $100 million to meet the requests of wholesale customers, out of which $91 million was taken, indicating greater apprehension among dealers who anticipate a further crash of the dollar in the FOREX market.
Confirming the offer, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the dealers will have value for their respective bids on Friday, March 24, 2017.
While further disclosing that the highest and marginal bid rates were N330/$1 andN320/$1, respectively, Okorafor said no intervention was made by the Bank to meet requests for invisibles on Thursday.
Meanwhile, reports gathered in Abuja and Lagos on Thursday indicates the Naira continues to firm up against major currencies, especially the United States dollar, which some customers said they bought from the streets at the rate of N385/$1. This has caused apprehension among speculators, who anticipate losses in the face of continued crash.
It will be recalled that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the Monetary Policy Committee briefing on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, assured that the Bank will sustain its FOREX intervention in the interbank market. He had also expressed optimism about the convergence of Forex rates between the Interbank and the BDCs.
