The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed all banks to immediately begin sale of foreign exchange, FOREX, for basic travel allowance, BTA, PTA, Tuition and medical fees to customers at not more than N360 per dollar.
Isaac Okorafor, acting director, Corporate Communications, CBN, said the apex bank will sell to banks at N357 per dollar.
Banks are to post the new rates in the banking halls of their branches immediately.
CBN will send examiners to banks to ensure the new rates are implemented, stating that Banks are prohibited from selling FX funds meant for invisibles to BDCs.
It should be recalled that following Thursday’s FOREX wholesale auction, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Friday, March 24, concluded transactions on the sum of $100 million earlier offered at the interbank market to meet customers’ demands, out of which authorized dealers were only able to pick $81.347 million after an initial bid for $91 million.
Commenting on the offer, Okorafor attributed the inability of authorised dealers to pick up the entire offer of the CBN to increasing dollar supply and sense of apprehension among dealers who anticipated a further crash in the rate of the dollar.
He reiterated the determination of the Bank to sustain its current interventions in the market.
According to him, “those who doubt the capacity of the Bank to sustain the intervention in the FOREX market are beginning to have a change of mind”.
Meanwhile, reports gathered in Abuja and Lagos over the week indicate the Naira sustained its bullish ride against major currencies, especially the United States dollar, which exchanged at an average of $1/N385.
This, no doubt, has triggered further apprehension among speculators, who anticipate further losses given the continued crash of the dollar.
With the Naira closing at N307 to the US dollar on Friday and the parallel market rate continuing to slide, the optimism of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to achieve the convergence of Forex rates between the Interbank and the BDCs markets appears to be gaining more ground.
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