Naira on Wednesday strengthened by 0.32 percent or N0.58k/$ at the inter-bank market after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold $200 million, BusinessDay learnt.
Consequently, after trading on Wednesday, naira closed at N183.00k/$ compared to N183.58 traded the previous day, data from Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ) revealed.
The CBN on Wednesday offered and sold a total of $200 million to some deposit money banks at the rate of N168/$ at the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS).
The nation’s currency depreciated 10 percent against the dollar in the past three months, the most among 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The local currency has been hit hard by the collapse in global oil prices. Brent crude fell below $50 a barrel on Wednesday before trading 0.1 percent higher at $51.15. Oil is down 54 percent since the end of June.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude producer that relies on oil for almost all export earnings, increased interest rates to a record 13 percent in November to protect the naira.
Naira has gained against the US dollar for three days in the new year, since the commencement of foreign exchange auction by the CBN after the festive holidays.
Source : BusinessDay