CBN says it’s too early to attribute naira slide to forex restriction

…dollar sells for N230
FELIX OLOYEDE
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted the claim that the
present slide of the naira was caused by the restriction of importers
38 items from participating in the country’s interbank foreign
exchange market.
The naira yesterday exchanged N230/$1 at the parallel market, losing
N2 as it traded N228/$1 the previous day.
The apex bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Ibrahim Mu’azu
told Hallmark that was too early to attribute latest struggling of the
nation’s currency to the new forex directive, which CBN issued last
week.
“You need to give it some time before you make any assessment of the
new forex policy,” he said.
He argued that those linking the present slide of the naira to the
restriction of importers of certain products from accessing forex from
the official market were only trying to influence the market.
“They cannot be saying the truth. They were only reacting to what
happened in a day. They have to watch it and see if this trend would
continue,” he noted.
The dollar was yesterday sold for N197.47, rising 0.04 per cent.
The apex bank on Tuesday threatened to sanction any authorized dealer
who funds those items that were restricted from accessing forex from
the official market.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to reiterate that those items
which have already been classified as “Not valid for forex” cannot be
funded at the interbank, from the proceeds from exports and Bureau de
Change sources.
“Consequently, authorized dealers are enjoined that these funded from
sources outsides all the segments of the Nigerian foreign exchange
markets,” the CBN stated in a circular signed by its director for
Trade and Exchange Department, Mr. Olakanmi Gbadamosi.
Hallmark recalls that the CBN last Wednesday released a list of 41
imported items that cannot access forex at the official forex market.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has concluded plans to raise N50.4
billion worth of Treasury bills of 3-month and 6-month maturities at
an auction next week.
According to the apex bank, N 25.40 billion worth of the 91-day paper
and 25 billion naira of the 182-day debt, will be sold on July 8,
2015, through the Dutch Auction System (DAS).