Naira exchanges at N420/$ on black market

The naira continued its rally against the United States dollar on Wednesday, exchanging at N420 per dollar as the central bank’s interventions in the currency market intensified.

The local currency had exchanged for as high as N480 per dollar before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s interventions on the over-the-counter spot market also called the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window.

About $50 million worth of foreign exchange was sold by the apex bank to international investors on the spot and forward markets, according to Reuters.

The bank plans to restart dollar sales to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators on 7^th September, it said in a circular last week.

Read also: Naira gains 9.7% against dollar on iblack market amid planned forex sales to BDCs

In the circular titled “Forex: Speculators set to Count Losses,” Isaac Okorafor, Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, said the regulator had firmed up plans to inject more liquidity into the currency market by selling foreign exchange to licenced BDCs.

He noted that forex sales to BDCs would be conducted twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays and that the BDCs had been instructed to ensure that their bank accounts were sufficiently funded for seamless transactions.

Speculators in the unofficial parallel are battling increasing losses as the naira continues to strengthen against the dollar.

“We have begun a robust and coordinated investigation in collaboration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and related agencies to uncover the unscrupulous persons and FX dealers who are creating this panic, and the full weight of our rules and regulations will be meted out to them, including, but not limited to, being charged for economic sabotage,” CBN said in March.

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