Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso has said that the apex bank will support measures to boost the nation’s external reserves including the proposed Eurobond issue by the Federal Government.
Cardoso who stated this in an interview said they should have a diversity of sources. It shouldn’t just be the eurobond market or foreign portfolio investors, but a hodgepodge of different things.
Speaking further, Cardoso said that the CBN is relatively pleased with the progress it has made in stabilizing the naira and believes the excessive volatility may be a thing of the past.
Cardoso said reviving confidence in the naira is crucial for the Nigeria to lure investors. Since Cardoso assumed office as in September, the CBN has increased interest rates by 750 basis points to 26.25%, cleared a foreign-exchange backlog and overhauled the country’s exchange rate policies – effectively devaluing the naira. That’s helped stabilize the naira, even though it’s still the world’s worst performing currency this year after the Lebanese pound.
The naira has been trading in a narrow range between N1,473 and N1,490 per dollar this month. It fell 0.3% to 1,492.71 to the dollar on Tuesday.