The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has resumed the sale of foreign exchange to eligible Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in an effort to stabilize the naira, which has weakened to 1,570/$ at the parallel market. The CBN sold dollars to BDCs at a rate of 1,450/$, as stated in a signed statement by AA Mahdi, acting director of the Trade and Exchange Department at the CBN.
In response to ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market and the aim of achieving a market-determined exchange rate for the naira, the CBN has acknowledged the continued distortions in the retail end of the market. Consequently, the apex bank has approved the sale of FX to BDCs to meet the demand for invisible transactions, with each BDC allotted $20,000 at a rate of N1,450.
BDCs are permitted to sell dollars to eligible end-users at a maximum margin of 1.5 percent above the purchase rate from the CBN.
The dollar, which traded as low as 1,640/$, settled at 1,570/$ at the parallel market, having closed Wednesday’s trading at 1,565/$.
Findings from BDC operators by The PUNCH showed that the naira was trading between 1,620/$ and 1,630/$ on the black market.
