MARKET NEWS

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said it has granted bureau de change, BDC, operators temporary access to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, NFEM, to purchase $25,000 weekly from authorized dealers to meet seasonal foreign exchange demand.

The apex bank disclosed this in a statement signed by its Acting Director Trade and Exchange Department, T.G. Allu.

CBN added that the temporary grant will run from December 19, 2024 to January 30, 2025.

CBN said: “In order to meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing a temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of $25,000.

“This window will be open between December 19, 2024 and January 30, 2025.

“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one Authorized Dealer of their choice and will be required to fully fund their account before accessing the market at the prevailing NFEM rate.

“All transactions with BDCs should be reported to the Trade and Exchange department, and a maximum spread of 1.0 percent is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users.”

CBN noted that the personal travel allowance, PTA, and business travel allowance, BTA, remain available and can be accessed from their banks to meet travel requirements.

“The general public is also reminded of the continued availability of PTA/BTA from their banks to meet their personal and business travel requirements and that all legitimate and eligible foreign exchange transactions are expected to be completed in the NFEM, at the market determined exchange rate.

“The CBN remains committed to a fully functional foreign exchange market and will continue to provide liquidity when necessary to manage price volatility.”