The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected liquidity into the foreign exchange market by selling US dollars to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators at a rate of N1,580 per dollar.
This move aims to address the rising demand in the retail market for eligible transactions such as personal travel allowances, business travel allowances, medical expenses, and school fees.
According to W. J. Kanya, the acting director of the Trade & Exchange Department, each BDC will be allocated $20,000, and they are authorized to sell to end-users at a margin not exceeding one percent above the purchase rate from the CBN.
To ensure a smooth process, eligible BDCs must deposit the required Naira payments into their designated CBN accounts and provide payment confirmations before collecting their dollar allocation at CBN branches in Abuja, Awka, Kano, and Lagos.
The CBN’s initiative is part of its ongoing efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market and ensure the supply meets retail market needs, particularly for non-import related transactions. Both BDC operators and the public are advised to comply with the new guidelines.
In the broader foreign exchange market, the Naira experienced a 2.9% appreciation on Friday, with the dollar trading at N1,593.32 compared to the previous day’s rate of N1,639.41.
This increase followed three consecutive days of Naira losses driven by strong dollar demand from end-users.
Wi th the CBN’s intervention and increasedd dollar supply worth $245.17 million, the Naira is expected to continue stabilizing in the coming days.