By KADIRI ABDULRAHMAN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the sale of an additional 10,000 dollars to 1,583 eligible Bureaux De Change (BDCs) in the country to meet market demands.

The Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, Dr Hassan Mahmud, made this known in a letter addressed to the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mahmud said that the CBN would sell to the BDCs at the rate of N1, 021 to a dollar.

The BDCs are in turn to sell to eligible end users at a spread of not more than 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, he said.

He directed all eligible BDCs to commence payment of Naira deposit to some designated CBN Naira deposit account numbers.

All BDCs are advised to continue to abide by the rules and conditions as stipulated in our earlier operational guidelines, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the apex bank had earlier, on April 8, approved the sale of 10,000 dollars to 1,588 eligible BDCs operators at the rate of N1,101 to the dollar.

The approvals are part of CBNs intervention in the foreign exchange market to improve liquidity and stabilise the Naira. (NAN)