CBN Defends Naira With $586 Million in August
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted foreign exchange interventions twice last week, selling $170 million to authorised dealer banks to strengthen dollar supply. The latest round of FX intervention boosted total US dollar sold to banks to $586 milllion, a stance the authority has maintained since the begining of the year.
Last week, the monetary authority came to the rescue following a signal that the official exchange rate could fall due to surging demand by companies seeking foreign currency payments.
The Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) saw increased demand for dollars, and it had a run on the exchange rate under the CBN eagle watch, depreciating to above $1,538 during an intraday trading session.
The Apex Bank sold $170 million to banks in two tranches to eliminate budding pressures on the official rate despite inflows from foreign portfolio investors.
The authority conducted open market operations where it offered juicy rates to attract dollar inflow from offshore investors. The two auctions conducted were well received, and the naira value of OMO bills allotted to investors reached N1.19 trillion.
MarketForces Africa reported that rates on these OMO papers were higher than usual, reflecting the CBN urge to drive FX inflows into the currency market. Elsewhere, the Nigeria’s gross external reserves increased to $41.27 billion at the end of August 2025. #CBN Defends Naira With $586 Million in August#
