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Naira Rebounds as CBN Clears Forex Debt Backlog

Naira

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  The naira has surged to N1,120 against the dollar in response to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s action to clear some of its FX backlog on Thursday. This marks an increase of N50 or 4.27 per cent compared to the N1,170 it traded for on Wednesday.
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Currency traders, also known as Bureaux De Change operators, have noted that the naira is recovering well, having swiftly rebounded from N1,170 per dollar in the morning to close trading at N1,120 per dollar. One trader named Awolu stated,
‘The dollar is now N1,040 if I want to sell. I bought it for N1,030. The rate has dropped. This morning it was N1,170. It is still declining; it hasn’t stabilized yet.”
Another trader, Kadri, mentioned,
“The dollar is at N1,120. In the morning, it was N1,150.’ Abubakar also confirmed, ‘The dollar has been decreasing today. It’s now N1,120. It was N1,150 before. It’s still going down.”
Muhammad added, “The dollar is selling at N1,125. In the morning, it was N1,150.”
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Aminu Gwadabe, the President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, affirmed that the dollar closed trading at N1,120 per dollar on Thursday, attributing it to the CBN’s efforts to clear its backlog. In the official market, the naira appreciated by 0.76 per cent, closing at N793.28 to the dollar on Thursday, up from N799.32/$ on Wednesday, as reported by FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. Data from the platform overseeing official foreign exchange trading in Nigeria revealed that the highest price recorded during the day’s trading was N1,018.60/$, while the lowest price was N730.00/$. News emerged on Thursday that the central bank had initiated the clearance of some of its foreign exchange backlogs. Sources close to the matter confirmed that the central bank had settled some of its FX obligations with certain banks, including Citibank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, and others. The Federal Government had recently announced its expectation of $10 billion to clear forex backlogs and stabilize the naira. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this at the 29th Nigerian Economic Summit, stating,
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“In addition, from the supply of foreign exchange through NNPC, increased production, reduced expenditure, from transactions such as forward sales, from our discussions with sovereign wealth funds, which are ready to invest and provide advanced alongside that investment, there is a line of sight of $10 billion worth of foreign exchange in the relatively near future in weeks rather than months.”
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