CBN lifts naira with $482.6m

IN the first trading day after the Democracy Day celebrations, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, intervened in the inter-bank market to the tune of $482.6 million, underlining its determination to guard the international value of the naira.

A breakdown of Tuesday’s interventions indicates that the Retail SMIS was allocated the sum of $285,779,350, while the $100 million was offered in the Wholesale SMIS auction window.

The Small, Medium and Enterprises (SMEs) window got an allocation of $52 million, while the invisibles segment, comprising Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), Personal Travel Allowance, medicals and tuition fees, among others, was allocated the sum of $45 million.

According to the Acting Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, the interventions are in line with the bank’s resolve, echoed by the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at last week’s briefing of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

While expressing pleasure that the intervention of the bank had ensured stability across all segments of the forex market, Mr Okorafor voiced his optimism that the bank’s objective of exchange rate convergence would be achieved soon.

Okorafor therefore reiterated his call to all stakeholders to play their respective roles in ensuring a smooth running of the foreign exchange market for the overall benefit of the economy.

Meanwhile, surveys in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port-Harcourt on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, indicated that the dollar traded to the naira at an average rate of N375/$1.