The local currency continued it’s recent recovery on Thursday by appreciating significantly against the dollar. This is in no small part thanks to recent interventions by the Yemi Cardoso-led Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
From ₦1,536.83 on Wednesday, the naira appreciated to ₦1,382.35/$ within 24hrs at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM). This marks the first time in a long while that the Nigerian currency would record such a huge gain.
It happened barely 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced it had cleared $7bn valid foreign exchange claims while increasing the country’s forex reserves.
The statement announcing it partly reads, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced that all valid foreign exchange backlogs have now been settled, fulfilling a key pledge of the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, to process an inherited backlog of $7bn in claims.
“Clearance of the foreign exchange transactions backlog is part of the overall strategy detailed in last month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting to stabilise the exchange rate and thereby curb imported inflation, spurring confidence in the banking system and the economy.
At the parallel market, the local currency also stabilised yesterday exchanging at ₦1,500 to a dollar.
