Reports emerged on Monday that the Central Bank has reduced the value of dollar sales to BDC operators from $15,000 to $8,000 weekly. This has contributed to the further slide of the Naira which closed on Monday at N473 (black market).
Why the CBN cut sales
- The CBN was too focused on selling to BDC’s in Abuja and Lagos thus starving BDC’s in other cities in the country of forex.
- The CBN therefore decided to sell to other states thus reducing the ration that was hitherto allocated to Lagos State.
- This has now triggered a further depreciation of the naira in Lagos and in Abuja, two states which typically decide the exchange rate in the parallel market.