The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) today offered a total of $143 million to meet bids for forwards, which includes requests for invisibles such as medicals, school fees and personal travel allowances valued at $43 million, through the inter-bank window.
Confirming the figures, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said the wholesale requests will be settled on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, adding that the closing interbank rate for Monday, March 20, 2017, was N307.5/$1.
With the development, it is expected that the Naira will further strengthen in the foreign exchange market in the days to come.
While disclosing that the Bank had so far met all the legitimate demands from genuine customers, he reiterated that the CBN would ensure sustainable forex liquidity and transparency in the process to enable as many customers as possible get access to the foreign exchange they genuinely demand.
He therefore advised eligible individuals with genuine foreign currency needs to freely approach their banks and authorised dealers with their request, stressing that the CBN had made adequate provisions of foreign currency for all such legitimate purposes.