Forex: CBN injects $1.3bn, CNY 118mn in November

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected $1.2852 billion and CNY 118.35 million (China Yuan) in November to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the foreign exchange market.

The chain of order of the intervention which was made public on November 2, November 13, November 16, November 21 and November 27, was made public by the CBN spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor.

In its first intervention for the month (November2), the CBN said it injected $337.16million in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) in addition to CNY 56.17million in the spot and short-tenored forwards segment.

Mr Okorafor revealed that the intervention was for requests in the agricultural and raw materials sectors, while the Chinese Yuan, on the other hand, was for Renminbi-denominated Letters of Credit (LCs).

In its second intervention for the month, the CBN said it injected $210 million in the inter-bank foreign exchange market. Figures obtained from the CBN indicate that the authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market received $100 million while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles segments were allotted $55 million each.

The third intervention on November 16 showed the CBN in its last sale before the final Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for 2018, injected $318.03million in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) of the inter-bank foreign market, and also offered CNY62.18million in the spot and short-tenored forwards segment.

Subsequently, on November 21, the CBN again intervened in the wholesale segment of the foreign exchange market, supplying about $100 million to dealers in that window and also injected about $55 million each in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Invisibles segments.

Lastly for the month, the bank on November 27 intervened in the wholesale segment of the foreign exchange market, offering the sum of $100 million to dealers in that window and also made interventions of $55 million each in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Invisibles segments.

Mr Okorafor assured of the CBN’s continued mediation in the interbank foreign exchange market in order to guarantee stability.

Meanwhile, the Naira continued its stable run against the United States dollars on November 27, exchanging at an average of N362/$1 in the BDC segment of markets across Lagos and Abuja, while CNY1 exchanged for N54.