Nigeria’s currency firmed further on the black market, gaining N0.42k against the dollar as the market closed at an average rate of N457.33k on Wednesday from N457.75k closed on Tuesday.
Naira appreciation is attributed to improved liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold over $450 million to over 5,000 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the last one month.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange naira was stable as the dollar was sold at N457 on Wednesday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is expected to sell dollars to BDCs on Thursday as about 5,000 BDCs funded their accounts on Wednesday.
The CBN has changed the dollar purchase days for BDCs to Tuesday and Thursdays from Mondays and Wednesdays, Aminu Gwadabe, president, National Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) confirmed to BusinessDay recently.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, Naira remained stable at N386.00 per dollar for the second consecutive day. Analysts at FDSH Research said most participants maintained bids between N384.00 and N393.01 per dollar.
In a recently published Monetary Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Guidelines for the Fiscal Year 2020-2021, the CBN estimates that the FX reserves would decline to between $29.9 billion and $34.3 billion by the end of December 2020. In 2020, the FX reserves have been impacted due to lower oil receipts and intensifying capital outflows among Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).
