The Central Bank of Nigeria injected $4.37bn in the foreign exchange market in the third quarter of 2020 as part of efforts to ensure the stability of the naira.
This was disclosed in the third-quarter economic report.
The bank added that through its periodic interventions in the forex market, it continued to boost the supply side of the market, as the private sector supply chain segment of the market is weakened by the COVID-19 crisis.
The report read in part, “During the third quarter of 2020, total foreign exchange sales to authorised dealers by the bank amounted to $4.37bn, a decline of 2.3 per cent from the level in the preceding quarter.
“This was attributed largely to the decrease in wholesale forward intervention and interbank sales. The total foreign exchange sales represented a decrease of 56.4 per cent, compared with the corresponding quarter of 2019.”
It added, “Further disaggregation showed that matured swap transactions and SMIS intervention rose by 50.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent to $1.24bn and $1.96bn, from the levels in the preceding quarter.
“However, interbank sales, interventions at the I&E window and SME fell by 22.3 per cent, 18.7 per cent and 3.5 per cent to $0.15bn, $0.39bn and $0.30bn relative to their levels in the preceding quarter.”
The report added that foreign exchange cash sales to Bureau de Change operators was $0.33bn in the period of review.
The apex bank also said it sustained interventions in the forex market and resumed forex cash sales to the BDC operators to boost liquidity and ease demand pressure.
It added that the exchange rate of naira against dollar was further adjusted during the review period from N361/$ to N381/$.
