The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the approval of the sales of FX to eligible Bureau De Change (BDCs) to meet the demand for invisible transactions in a decisive step to strengthen the naira.
In a circular signed by A. A Mahdi, the Acting Director, Trade and Exchange at the CBN, the bank announced that the sum of $20,000 is to be sold to each BDC at the rate of N1,450/$1.
This rate represents the lower band of the trading rate at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) from the previous trading day. 
These sales come at a time when the naira faces constant pressure, inching toward the N1,600/$1 ceiling.
This measure is expected to meet the demand for invisible transactions and curb the widening exchange rate premium observed in the parallel market.
To address these distortions and ensure a more stable exchange rate, the CBN’s approval allows BDCs to sell FX to eligible end-users with a margin not exceeding 1.5% above the purchase rate from the CBN.
This means that the BDCs cannot make more than N21.75 profit on each dollar they sell to their customers.
