In an effort to address the foreign exchange problem around the nation, the Central Bank of Nigeria said that it has sold $20,000 worth of foreign currency to qualified Bureau De Change operators at a rate of N1590 per dollar.

The apex bank made this information public on Wednesday in a circular that was signed by W. J. Kanya, the acting director of the trade and exchange department.

The CBN claims that the step will assist operators in satisfying the demand for eligible invisible transactions in the retail market.

This is to let the public and Bureau De Change Operators know that the CBN will be adding more liquidity to this particular area of the foreign currency market.

In light of this, the CBN has authorised the sale of US$20,000.00 at a rate of N1,590/$ to each BDC that qualifies. It stated, “This is to satisfy the demand for transactions that are invisible.”

This comes as the top bank issued a warning to BDCs not to sell to Nigerians at a price that is more than N1590 per dollar buying rate by more than 1%.

“Selling to qualified end users at a margin of NO MORE THAN 1% over the buying rate from CBN is permitted for all BDCs.

It is instructed that eligible BDCs that are interested in this transaction send the Naira payment to the CBN Deposit Account Numbers associated with them.

Additionally, in order to receive the $20,000.00, payment confirmation and all required paperwork for disbursement must be turned in to the relevant CBN branches in Abuja, Awka, Kano, and Lagos. “Please proceed accordingly,” the statement said in its conclusion.

The Nigerian naira experienced a sharp decline on Wednesday, reaching N1667.42 and N1705 per dollar at both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets, prompting the central bank’s latest intervention.

According to DAILY PULSE, this is CBN’s seventh recent intervention in the FX market.