The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to intervene in the foreign exchange market by offering fresh dollar sales of $20,000 to eligible Bureau de Change (BDC) dealers across the country.
This decision was detailed in a circular, TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/028, released on Thursday and obtained by THE WHISTLER. The circular, titled “Sales Of Foreign Exchange To BDCs To Meet Retail Market Demand For Eligible Invisible Transactions,” was addressed to both BDC operators and the public.
The intervention comes in response to the continued depreciation of the naira across various foreign exchange markets, despite previous efforts by the apex bank.
Recall that a significant decline in the naira’s value, with the currency falling from N1,675 per dollar on Tuesday to N1,695 by midday Wednesday. By the close of trading that same day, the naira had depreciated further to N1,710 per dollar. The weighted average used by the CBN for transactions also dropped from N1,660.33 on Tuesday to N1,667.22 per dollar on Wednesday.
In response to the worsening situation, the CBN confirmed on Thursday that it has approved fresh dollar sales to BDCs at a rate of N1,590 per dollar.
“This is to inform the Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators and the general public that the CBN will be providing additional liquidity to this segment of the foreign exchange market,” the circular read. “To this end, the CBN has approved the sale of US$20,000.00 to each eligible BDC at the rate of N1,590 per dollar to meet the demand for invisible transactions.”
The CBN also emphasized that BDC operators are not permitted to sell dollars at a margin greater than one percent above the purchase rate. All participating BDCs must deposit their naira payments into the CBN’s designated accounts.
The intervention aims to stabilize the market and curb the naira’s depreciation
