In the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN lifting of forex ban on 43 items, the Investor & Exporter forex window has recorded a turnover of $53.02m on Friday.
It would be recalled that the CBN had on Thursday, lifted the ban on importers of 43 items restricted from accessing foreign exchange on its official platform.
In a statement titled, ‘CBN restates commitment to boost liquidity in forex market’, signed by the Director, Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, the apex bank said:
“Importers of all the 43 items previously restricted by the 2015 circular referenced TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/010, and its addendums are now allowed to purchase foreign exchange in the Nigerian foreign exchange market,” the statement said.
According to figures obtained from the FMDQ on Friday, there was no improvement in turnover on the official trading platform, as it recorded $53.02m turnover from $60.30m on Tuesday.
The naira slightly appreciated as it exchanged at 764.86/$ from 766.70/$ on Thursday.
Cordros Securities Analysts in a report on Friday, on the forex ban lift said:
“In our view, while this is another step forward, we think FX liquidity should take prominence to avoid further FX pressures at the official and parallel markets, more so that the FX queue will now be longer at the official market without liquidity.
“Perhaps this is a signalling tool by the CBN to shift attention away from the parallel market and reduce the pressure of the official market playing a catch-up game with the unofficial exchange rate.
“Hence, in terms of impact, we think FX pressures will increase in the official market in the near term, while the parallel market rate is likely to appreciate as the importers of these 43 items move to the official market.”
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