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Nigeria to clear backlog of forex demand: official

Xinhua, June 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nigeria plans to clear all existing backlog of Foreign Exchange demand in the country as its flexible foreign exchange policy takes off, a top official said Tuesday.

Spokesperson for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Isaac Okorafor, told reporters in Abuja that the move was to ensure the survival of the inter-bank forex trading under the new forex guidelines, which took effect from Monday.

The Nigeria's apex bank forex backlog is estimated at four billion dollars.

Okorafor said all existing legitimate forex demand for imports, school fees and medicals, among others, would be met.

Meanwhile, the Naira, Nigeria's currency since on Monday appreciated by 7.6 percent against the U.S. dollar at the parallel market.

The naira also traded at 450 Naira and 370 Niara against the Pound Sterling and the Euro respectively, appreciating against both currencies.

Traders at the market attributed the rise in the value of the naira to the fall out of the implementation of the flexible exchange rate policy by the CBN.

They expressed the hope that the seeming availability of the greenback at the onset of the implementation of the market driven policy would be sustained if speculators do not thwart the process.

The apex bank opted for a flexible exchange rate regime in order to save the nation's foreign reserve from depletion. Endit