Nigeria’s interbank lending rate climbed by around 20 percentage points at the weekend after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) sale of dollar forwards to offset a backlog of forex obligations drained cash from the money market.
The overnight lending rate stood at 50 per cent against 29.33 per cent the previous day because commercial lenders scrambled for cash on Friday to pay for dollar purchase at a CBN foreign exchange intervention auction targeting certain sectors.
The bank said it would offer dollar forwards to offset foreign exchange obligations for manufacturers, airlines and fuel importers as part of measures to improve dollar liquidity and support the ailing naira.
