*Fuel scarcity.
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
25 May 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Central Bank of Nigeria has insisted that oil marketers source foreign exchange (forex) from the parallel market against calls by the marketers for access to foreign exchange window.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele yesterday maintain that oil marketers would still make a profit even if they buy forex at N320 to the dollar, stressing the stance that oil marketers buy forex from the parallel market.
Oil marketers have in times past bought forex at N197.5 from the CBN window by applying through their various banks, but following the hike in the price of petrol to N145 per liter from N86.50 they had been told to source forex for oil importation from the parallel market.
Emefiele while fielding questions from journalists following the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting in Abuja yesterday, noted that the foreign exchange reserves of the CBN can no longer satisfy all the demands for forex.
The external reserves had consistently been depleted in the past months shedding a total of $2.45 million or 8.46 percent since the beginning of the year. As at January 4, 2016, the reserves was $28.957 billion but had consistently trended downwards to $26.51 billion as at Monday, May 23, 2016.
Meanwhile, the apex bank says it plans to raise N143.85 billion worth of Treasury bills with maturities ranging between three months and a year on June 1, 2016.
The apex bank said it will issue N45.85 billion of 3-month debt, N18 billion in the 6-month paper and N80 billion of 1-year bills in a Dutch auction.
“Each bid must be in multiple of 1,000 Naira subject to a minimum of 10,000 Naira,” the bank said in a public notice. Allotment letters are to be issued to successful bids on June 2, 2016.
