The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has received bids for $100 million from dealers in the interbank market to meet customers’ requests. The sale will be settled today.
CBN spokesman Isaac Okorafor said no intervention was made by the bank to meet requests for invisibles.
Okorafor reiterated that the CBN will continue to intervene in the interbank market to meet all legitimate transaction-based foreign exchange demands by customers.
The CBN had in its last auction sale offered $150 million to the interbank market with the highest bid rate at N335 to dollar while the marginal rate was N320 to dollar.
Foreign exchange speculators are expected to lose over N100 million in the coming days as CBN intervention in the interbank market continues.
Already there are heightened fears among traders and other market participants who are yet to recover from the losses of the last two weeks owing to sharp and sudden appreciation of the naira.
Okorafor confirmed this development, reiterated that with improving reserve levels, the bank was determined to continuously make forex available to all genuine customers through their banks, advising those hoarding the greenback to reduce their losses by selling their dollar stock.
Market watchers, say there is the likelihood of a liquidity glut as banks are beginning to send out salespeople to scout for customers to buy off their dollars in an effort to avoid losses arising from the expected further appreciation of the naira.
The CBN has in the last one week supplied more than $1.4 billion to the market made to settle Personal Travel Allowances, Business Travel Allowance, medical fees and school fees among others
