Naira gains across forex market on CBN $254.3m injection

Nigerian foreign exchange market witnessed the appreciation of the naira at all segments following the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the tune of $254.3 million on Friday.
After trading on Friday, naira gained N0.98k to close at N365.02k per dollar from N366/$ the previous day at the investors and exporters forex window, data from the FMDQ show.
At the interbank spot foreign exchange market, naira strengthened marginally by N0.02k as it closed at the rate of N306 as against N306.20k on Thursday.
The local currency also gained N2, closing at N365 per dollar, representing 0.54 percent appreciation compared with N367 per dollar traded on Friday at the black market.
Players in the retail segment of the Nigerian interbank foreign exchange market received a $254.3 million boost from the CBN on Friday, July 7, 2017, following bids received from forex dealers by the apex bank.
Information obtained from the CBN on Friday indicated that the deals in the retail window represented requests from the various sectors in the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), thereby providing a boost to the respective sectors.
Isaac Okorafor, acting director, corporate communications at the CBN, while confirming the forex sales, explained that the sale was in response to bids received from authorized dealers, on behalf of their customers, at the retail auction announced by the CBN on Wednesday, July 5, 2017.
He disclosed that the $254.3 million sold was for companies in the raw materials, agricultural, airline and petroleum industry.
He recalled that that the Bank, at its last intervention in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) on June 23, 2017, injected a total of $240 million for spot and forward deals, just as it intervened with the total sum of $390 million in the wholesale, SMEs and invisibles segments of the market on June 28 and July 3, 2017.
Speaking further, Okorafor said the CBN remained very committed to ensuring that all the sectors continue to enjoy access to the foreign exchange required for their business concerns.
Meanwhile, the naira, on Friday, July 7, 2017, exchanged at an average of N364/$1 in the Bureau de Change segment (BDCs) across major trading points in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano.
The central bank has been intervening on the official market in the last few months to try to narrow the spread between rates on the official market and black market. It has sold over $5 billion since February.