Considering the current injection of foreign exchange sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs), by CBN’s, analysts forsee that the naira will stabilise around N1,500 in the second half of the year. United Capital, in its Half-Year Economic Outlook titled, “Balancing Act: Nigeria’s Path to Economic Stability,” released over the weekend, stated; “The CBN will continue to intervene in the FX market; nevertheless, due to lack of confidence, hoarding, and speculation, the naira will remain weak for the remaining part of the year. Notably, due to CBN’s efforts at increasing FX inflows into the economy, curbing speculation and hoarding activities, we expect the naira to moderate at N1,500/$ in H2-2024.”
Furthermore, United Capital noted that external reserves might hover around $34 billion due to continuous FX injections. They added. “Foreign reserves will hover around $34bn+ for the remaining months of the year. However, due to the continuous defence of the naira by the CBN, foreign reserves may remain at current levels with the possibility of improving slightly as the government’s efforts to attract foreign inflows, materialize.”
The CBN recently disclosed that it sold $106.50 million to 29 Authorised Dealer Banks (ADBs) between July 18 and 19, 2024, as part of efforts to improve supply in the foreign exchange (FX) market. The Director of the Financial Markets Department, Dr Omolara Omotunde Duke, confirmed in a statement that the CBN would continue to support various segments of the official markets with liquidity over the next few weeks.
