CBN To Announce New Exchange Rate Band

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a bid to bring the external and domestic economic variable into equilibrium, may announce a new exchange rate band, with a floor of N185 and a ceiling of N220 in the first quarter of this year, Leadership reports.







A few analysts are confident that the apex bank may unveil the new band in two weeks when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets.
The chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Bismarck Rewane, said the interest rate will likely respond to the new band.
The anticipated adjustment in the exchange rate band is expected to slowdown the rate of depletion,of the external reserves, already below $29 billion, as the demand pressure eases.
However the FDC boss said, with the oil prices still soft at $37 billion, the likelihood of an accretion is slim.
Just a few days ago, the Nigerian Naira appreciated marginally against the US Dollar following CBN’s sale of $15.5m to over 1,500 Bureaux de Change operators last week.
Naira appreciated by 0.4 per cent on Friday afternoon as it exchanged for N277 against the dollar from N278 it traded for previously.