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Nigeria central bank sets limits on oil companies' FX transfers from crude

Nigeria's central bank has set a limitation on foreign currency transfers from crude export proceeds by global oil business to their moms and dad companies, in its most current procedure to improve dollar supply in the regional currency market.

In a circular dated Feb. 14, the Central Bank of Nigeria stated banks might in the very first circumstances move a maximum of 50%. of unrefined export proceeds to oil companies abroad.

They could then transfer the balance after 90 days of the. deposit of the profits.

Because global companies provide and obtain. between themselves in a procedure referred to as money pooling,. analysts anticipate the effect of the new guideline to be marginal.

Africa's biggest economy has actually been experiencing crippling. dollar scarcities that has actually pushed its currency to record. lows, although central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso has actually said. that dollar liquidity was improving.

The latest relocation belongs to a series of reserve bank reforms. targeted at enhancing dollar liquidity which dried up in the. aftermath of a formerly low oil price in 2016 and after that. disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, the naira fell to a record low of 1,606 to the. dollar after the circular was made public. It later recuperated to. close at 1,476 naira, around the level on the unofficial. parallel market.

The reserve bank said it wished to make sure that foreign. transfers are done with very little effect on liquidity in the. currency market while supporting oil companies to have simple gain access to. to their unrefined profits.

As soon as guidelines for, Cardoso has stated the currency will adjust. market individuals are made clear. Last week, the central bank treked open market rates to draw. financiers to costs as inflation reached an almost three-decade. high and lagged behind the benchmark policy rate.

The bank has also ditched caps on forex spreads on the. interbank market.

(source: Reuters)