The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent a sum of $10.3 billion defending the naira in the inter-bank foreign exchange market for the second half of 2020, according to a report.
This information was contained in the half-year report published by the apex bank.
The naira dipped to N429.75/$1 on the Investors’ & Exporters’ window at last week’s trading sessions, depreciation from around $410/$1 it exchanged previously.
Although the local currency has remained stable at the official CBN rate of N379/$1, it exchanged at N482/$1 at the parallel market on Friday. The local currency’s depreciation at I&E window has howler continued to narrow rate gaps.
According to the report signed by CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Kingsley Obiora, the apex bank’s intervention in the inter-bank foreign exchange market was to cushion demand pressures and ensure exchange rate stability.
Obiora said the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to undermine economic and social activities across the world, with many countries recording negative output growth.
“I believe that in the middle of this pandemic, lies great opportunities to support growth, and there cannot be a better time to make a big push, particularly given our wide negative output gap and rising inflation,” he added.
