Unic Press UK: The Nigeria currency, Naira is regaining its strength against the U.S. Dollar given happenings in the parallel market in the last few days’. The exchange rate in the parallel market in several areas in Lagos, Nigeria, on Friday, the 24th February 2017 was $1=₦460. The official exchange rate set by the CBN remain $1=₦305.50.
Perhaps, the parallel market is reacting to the intervention this week by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Early this week, the Central Bank issued a press release “New Policy Actions in the Foreign Exchange Market“, disclosing new measures to ease the foreign exchange crisis. The kernel of the new policy is to provide “direct additional funding to banks,” the CBN said.
In a circular issued by the CBN’s acting director of corporate communications, Isaac Okorafor, the new policy included:
- Travel Allowances: The CBN said it would henceforth provide the foreign exchange that all the commercial banks need to meet the demand for personal travel allowances (PTA) and business travel allowances (BTA).
- School and Medical Fees: Foreign exchange would be provided to enable parents, guardians and sponsors to make payments so long as any payments relating to school/medical fees will be remitted by commercial banks directly to the institution specified by the customer.
- .FX Sales at Major Airports: “In order to further ease the burden of travellers and ensure that transactions are settled at much more competitive exchange rates, the CBN hereby directs all banks to open FX retail outlets at major airports as soon as logistics permit.” (CBN).
- Applicable retail transactions will be settled at a rate not exceeding 20 percent above the inter-bank market rate.
