The long-awaited dollar supply from multinationals and foreign currency earning-firms to the newly-inaugurated inter-bank foreign exchange market under the flexible rate policy was realised yesterday as about $37.2 million was cumulatively auctioned by three oil majors.

Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened in the forex market again, selling $7 million at N283 to the dollar on the inter-bank currency market, keeping the currency steady at Wednesday’s record.

Specifically, the Nigerian units of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Eni and Addax sold a combined $37.2 million through commercial banks for import of petroleum products into the country, according to Reuters.
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The development showed that the oil majors contributed more than half of the total market supplies needed to meet the inter-bank market traded volume of $60 million, with the naira remaining steady at N283 to the dollar.

On Wednesday, the CBN and Citibank executed the country’s first Naira-settled Futures trade against the dollar two days after the apex bank introduced an over-the-counter futures market on the currency to help manage dollar demand, quoting the naira firmer at N279 to the dollar in a month’s time and at N210 by April next year.

“The local unit has gained a relative stability under the floating system since last week, as average daily exchange rate has remained in-between N282 and N283”, a currency trader said.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s forex reserves fell marginally to $26.34 billion by June 28, down 0.30 per cent from a month ago, according to a new report by the apex bank.

The stock of foreign reserves, estimated at $26.42 billion in May, down 9.2 per cent compared with one year recorded, settled at $26.34 now despite depletions to intervene in the new market structure, after CBN lifted 16-month-old currency controls.

The bank had last week auctioned $3.5 billion on the futures market to clear a backlog of currency demand after it lifted its 16-month-old peg to allow the naira to trade freely on the inter-bank market.