The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is expected to pump $90 million into the parallel market as it plans to shut the official foreign exchange window for the year by Wednesday, December 23.
This week’s parallel market intervention is expected to curb prevailing naira volatility in the market. The naira last week exchanged at N280 to a dollar after the CBN supplied only $23 million to Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators, $67 million short of the expected $90 million.
Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) President Aminu Gwadabe, who said he had heard about the plan, said the apex bank will meet this week’s forex demand to avoid a repeat of last week’s crisis.
“I think the CBN has learnt its lessons and will supply $90 million to the market. This translates to $30,000 for each of the 3,000 BDCs. That is the only way the naira will begin to rebound in the parallel market. It is currently exchanging at N263 to one dollar in Lagos and Abuja,” he said.
The parallel or black market has been sustained by the significant differences in the naira exchange rates against international currencies. With nearly N70 gap between the official and the parallel market rates, there has been a lot of room for players to make easy profit.
