The Central Bank of Nigeria has allocated $148 million to 29 authorized dealers as part of efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market amid the recent sharp decline of the naira. A statement on the central bank’s website on Friday indicated that these transactions took place on Monday, July 22, and Tuesday, July 23, 2024, with exchange rates ranging from N1470.00/$1 to N1510.00/$1.
This action follows a similar intervention two weeks ago when the CBN disbursed $122.67 million to 46 authorized dealers to foster market stability and mitigate volatility. Additionally, the central bank announced last week that each Bureau de Change (BDC) would receive $20,000 at the rate of N1,450/$1.
Despite these measures, the naira has continued to depreciate against the US dollar, surpassing N1,600 at the official market on Thursday. The statement detailed, “The Central Bank of Nigeria disbursed a total of $148,000,000.00 in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market to authorized dealers on July 22 and 23, 2024. The foreign exchange was sold to 29 authorized dealer banks at an exchange rate of 1470.00 US$1 to N1510.00/US$1.”