The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold $876.26 million to end users through bids submitted by 26 banks.
In a circular released on Wednesday, the apex bank stated that this move aims to support the weakening naira.
The naira is currently under pressure due to seasonal demand from summer tourism and businesses needing foreign currency to import goods into the nation.
According to the circular, total bids amounted to $1.18 billion, received from 32 authorized dealer banks. Of these, bids worth $876.26 million from 26 banks were approved, while bids totaling $313.69 million from six banks were disqualified.
Disqualifications occurred because four banks submitted bids after the 3:00 PM cutoff time and two banks failed to provide bids in the required format. Additionally, all bids with Form Q and unverifiable Forms A and M on the Trade Portal were disqualified.
The CBN approved a cut-off rate of N1495/USD for the Retail Dutch Auction.
The detailed results and qualified bids will be published on the CBN’s website to ensure transparency. Settlement for the successful bids is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2024.
The sale follows increasing unmet foreign exchange demand, which has been putting pressure on the foreign exchange market and adversely affecting the naira’s exchange rate, according to a circular from the Central Bank of Nigeria issued last week.