ABUJA, Dec 20 (Reuters) – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted the country’s Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary access to the official foreign exchange market from December 19 to January 30, 2025, it said in a statement on Thursday.

Operators will be allowed to purchase a maximum of $25,000 weekly from authorised dealers. All transactions require upfront funding at prevailing rates and must adhere to a maximum spread of 1%, the CBN said.

Nigeria’s central bank typically sells foreign exchange directly to BDCs at a subsidised rate. The bank’s statement did not explain the reasoning behind the move, which would give the BDCs access to a new automated FX trading system launched this month to replace a decade-old over-the-counter system.

(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Peter Graff)