Retail SMIS gets $298.71m, CNY39.69m Boost

ABUJA – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has made another intervention in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to the tune of $2698.71million in addition to CNY 39.69million in the spot and short tenured forwards segment of the inter-bank foreign market.

The Director, Corporate Communications Department at the Bank, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, disclosed this on Friday, July 12, 2019, noting that the interventions in United States dollars, just as in previous transactions, were to meet requests in the agricultural and raw materials sectors. Similarly, the transactions in Chinese Yuan were for Renminbi- denominated Letters of Credit.

Mr. Okorafor also reiterated the satisfaction of the Bank’s management with the stability in the forex market, stressing that the Bank would continue to make necessary interventions in order to ensure liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market. He said the Bank was further encouraged by the improved inflow of foreign exchange, which has kept the exchange rate around the N360/$1 for close to 30 months.

While urging Nigerians to continue to support the policies of the CBN aimed at boosting the production capacity of local industries as well as creating jobs for citizens, he assured that the Bank would remain committed to ensuring that all the sectors of the forex market continue to enjoy access to the needed foreign exchange.

Meanwhile, a dollar exchanged for N360 while CNY1 exchanged at N55, at the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market on Friday, July 12, 2019.