CBN injects $297m into Forex market

The Naira has been given another boost as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN,) on Thursday) injected $297 million into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment of the foreign exchange market, raising the total intervention for the week to $547 million.
Confirming the figures, CBN spokesman and Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the Bank was resolute in its determination to intervene in the forex market with the aim of uplifting the naira exchange rate, boost liquidity in the forex market and ensure timely execution and settlement for eligible transactions.
The spokesman also expressed confidence that the interventions will continue to guarantee stability in the market and ensure availability to individuals and business concerns with genuine demand for Forex transactions.
It will be recalled that on Monday, August 28, 2017, the CBN intervened in the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market to the tune of $195m in three segments of the market. In the wholesale segment of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange market, it sold $100m and also uplifted the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisible segments, with the sum of $50 million and $45million respectively.
Okorafor, while responding to media enquiries earlier in the week had hinted that the apex Bank would increase liquidity in the market in the coming days, noting that the move by the CBN is necessary to enhance stability in the FX market.