Transactions at new FX window for investors/exports hit $2.2bn
Transactions at the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) segment of the Foreign Exchange market has reached $2.2bn inception just as the Naira is set to be given further lift in the market with CBN’s injection of another $418m into various segments of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange market yesterday.
Figures obtained from the CBN indicate that the retail segment of the market received the highest intervention with a total of $226m, followed by the wholesale window that received an allocation of $100m. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received a boost of $50m while the invisibles segment, comprising business/personal travel allowances, school tuition, medicals, etc. was allocated the sum of $42m to meet the demands of customers.
Confirming the figures, the CBN’s spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the volume of currency trading in the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) FX Window had cumulatively hit heights of $2.2bn since the CBN introduced it on Friday, April 21, 2017, to boost liquidity in the Forex market and ensure timely execution and settlement for eligible transactions.
The spokesman expressed confidence that the interventions would continue to guarantee stability in the market and ensure availability to individuals and business concerns.
It would be recalled that the CBN, only on Monday, June 12, 2017, injected the sum of $413.5 million into the inter-bank market in its unrelenting bid to guarantee liquidity in the market, as well as shore up the international value of the Naira.
A breakdown of Monday’s figures shows that the apex bank offered the sum of $100m to authorised dealers in the wholesale window, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window was allocated a total of $28m. The invisibles segment was allocated the sum of $25.5m to meet the needs of customers in that sector.
Meanwhile, the Naira remained stable with a high possibility of further strengthening in the Forex market on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, exchanging at an average of N363/$1 in the BDC segment of the market.