The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted permission to International Oil Companies (IOCs) to resume the sale of US dollars to banks. This move is aimed at injecting liquidity into the Investors & Exporters (I&E) foreign exchange market.
According to a source familiar with the matter, developments in the foreign exchange market indicate that the restriction on IOCs selling dollars to dealing member banks has been lifted.
“We expect this to inject additional liquidity into the Investors & Exporters window and help address the existing backlog of US dollar demand in the market,” the source stated.
Since assuming the role of acting governor, Folashodun Shonubi has been reversing the policies implemented by the suspended Governor Godwin Emefiele. President Bola Tinubu appointed Shonubi in May, and he has swiftly implemented a thorough house cleaning of monetary policy, as promised.
After floating the naira and ending the long-standing hard currency peg, which caused a drain of dollars from the economy and unsettled investors, the CBN is now focused on increasing dollar supply to ease pressure on the naira. The naira experienced a 1.2 percent gain at the I&E window.
Yesterday, the total foreign exchange turnover increased by 20 percent to $89.37 million from $73.86 million worth of trades on Tuesday.
