CBN Sells $543.5m to Forex Dealers to Defend Naira at Currency Market

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

About $543.5 million was given to authorised foreign exchange (FX) deals, particularly commercial banks in the country, to ease the pressure on the Naira in the currency market

This information was revealed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through a statement signed by its Director of Financial Markets Department, Ms Omolara Duke.

Ms Duke disclosed that the sales to the forex dealers were carried out between September 6 and 30, 2024, as part of efforts of the banking sector watchdog to ensure stability in the FX space.

According to her, the apex bank allotted the forex to the authorised dealers through a two-way quote at the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on 11 dealing days, noting that the spot sales were to reduce observed market volatility driven by high demand for commodity imports and seasoned demand for FX.

She explained that this announcement of the forex sales was “to educate and provide guidance to the general public on the pricing of FX.”

“This is by taking a clue from the range of rates at which fx was sold by the CBN to authorised dealers.

“The CBN will continue to facilitate the supply of fx into the NFEM as part of its holistic fx management strategy,” Ms Duke added.