Analysts Say No Respite for Naira as FX Intervention Tumble 28%
Investment banking experts, analysts say there is no respite for Naira in the near term as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) foreign exchange (FX) intervention tumble 28% last week. In their separate reports on the foreign exchange market, analysts consensus remains that CBN market intervention has dropped significantly.
This is coming at the time when the monetary authority at a meeting with Banks directors said it will boost dollar supply for banks to meet customers demand.
“CBN FX intervention in the Investors and Exporters Window remains below the pre-pandemic level”, reports said. Lower supply amidst increased demand for foreign currencies often force exchange rate paired against major currencies to face significant pressure.
In a report, analysts at Chapel Hill Denham maintained position that they do not foresee any respite in the near term until the Central Bank engineers further devaluation or increase its FX intervention or both.
Foreign exchange supply to the investors and exporters (IEW) window nosedived strongly amidst low inflow into the external reserves.
Despite this low level liquidity in the space, Naira gained at the window amidst arbitrage activities in the parallel market which raised spread on the local currency.
Analysts at Chapel Hill Denham said unlike the prior week, liquidity at the Investors, window worsened, declining significantly by 28.0% week on week to US$153 million.
The firm said even at that, Naira appreciated against the greenback by 30 points to N410.75. Meanwhile, in the parallel market, it depreciated markedly by 140 basis points week on week, crossing the N500 perceived resistance to close at N502.
Analysts said the premium between the IEW and the parallel rates remained exorbitant at 22.2%, the highest since early December 2020. Across other segments, the FX rate remained unchanged at N410.18 and N380.69 at the official and SMIS windows, respectively.
Recall in May 2021, the CBN updated the NAFEX rate on its website, a move that dovetails neatly with its FX rates convergence aspiration.
While the convergence was expected to partly solve the liquidity crises across the different segments of the FX windows, analysts at Chapel Hill Denham noted that the static and sizeable balance of payment deficit portend that further FX adjustment is required if any meaningful progress is to be made.
“To add, we imagine that the recent rapid pace of Naira depreciation at the parallel market is a fall out of the CBN’s failure to significantly step up intervention sales in the window.
“Overall, we do not foresee any respite in the near term until either the CBN engineers further devaluation or increase its FX intervention or both”, Chapel Hill Denham said.
Analysts Say No Respite for Naira as FX Intervention Tumble 28%
The post Analysts Say No Respite for Naira as FX Intervention Tumble 28% appeared first on MarketForces Africa.
source https://dmarketforces.com/analysts-say-no-respite-for-naira-as-fx-intervention-tumble-28/