Naira reverses gains at investors’ window

The naira on Tuesday reversed the gains made over the previous day at the investors and exporters forex window due to forces of demand and supply.
The naira lost N4.33k per dollar as it closed at N363.33k on Tuesday from N359/$ quoted the previous day.
At the interbank spot foreign exchange market, the local currency remained stable closing at N305.95k per dollar data from FMDQ revealed. Naira also traded at the rate of between N366 and N367 per dollar at the black market, the same level it was since last week.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, injected the total sum of $195 million into various segments of the interbank foreign exchange market. This is in continuation of its drive to ensure liquidity and stability in the foreign exchange market.
A breakdown of figures released by the CBN on Monday, shows that the sum of $100 million was offered to authorised dealers in the wholesale window, just as the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window was allocated the sum of $50 million. Those seeking forex for the purpose of BTA/PTA, tuition and medical bills, among other invisibles, received the sum of $45 million.
The acting director, corporate communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, who confirmed the figures, said the bank’s continued intervention was aimed at strengthening the international value of the naira, while ensuring accessibility to the greenback by customers who required it for genuine purposes.
It will be recalled that the CBN in the last round of forex intervention in the inter-bank market on June 28, 2017, injected a total sum of $195 million to the wholesale, SMEs and invisibles segments of the market.
Meanwhile, a survey of markets in the Bureau de Change segment (BDCs) in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano, on Monday, July 3, 2017, showed that the naira exchanged at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market.