The development has put currency speculators in series of losses in the last three weeks, as the parallel market rate has fallen from a record high of N520/$ to N445/$ yesterday.
This development is coming as the Central Bank of Nigeria, yesterday, offered another $180 million to meet bids for forwards, which include requests for invisibles such as medicals, school fees and personal travel allowances valued at $80 million, through the inter-bank window.
The apex bank has consistently been selling foreign exchange to importers since February, when it liberalised further the foreign exchange activities. The nation’s foreign reserve has remained stable at $30.3 billion despite several interventions at the interbank market, although it has only added $194 million in the last seven days.
This, the apex bank said, is a move to increase dollar supply in the market and narrow the margin between official and black market rate.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said the wholesale requests will be settled on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, adding that the closing interbank rate for Monday, March 20, 2017 was N307.5/$1.
While disclosing that the bank has so far met all the legitimate demands from genuine customers, he reiterated that the CBN would ensure sustainable forex liquidity and transparency in the process to enable as many customers as possible get access to the foreign exchange they genuinely demand.
