Naira hits N755/$ at I&E window as CBN directs banks to trade freely

The naira, Nigeria’s legal tender, is currently trading at N750-N755 per dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window.

The I&E foreign exchange (FX) window is the country’s official exchange rate window.

Sources familiar with the matter told TheCable on Wednesday that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks to sell forex freely at market-determined rates.

The market rate is said to be a “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement.

This implies that Nigeria has eased its control of the naira, allowing the local currency to freely float. 

A free-floating exchange rate occurs when a government allows the exchange rate to be determined purely by market forces and there is no attempt to ask the central bank to influence the external  value of the exchange rate.

Checks by TheCable showed that the naira appreciated by 0.18 percent to close at N471.67/$ at the I&E window on Tuesday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform where FX is officially traded.

At the end of the trading day on Wednesday, the naira closed at N664.04 per dollar, data from the FMDQ indicated.

The development comes days after the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu.

Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, deputy governor, operations directorate, is expected to act as the CBN governor pending the conclusion of an investigation ordered by the president into Emefiele’s activities.

The Department of State Services (DSS) later announced that Emefiele is currently in its custody for “some investigative reasons”.