The Nigerian naira weakened against the U.S dollar on the interbank market on Monday, on strong demand by some banks filling their customers’ needs for dollars, as dollar liquidity gradually dries up in the market, traders said.

The naira closed at 157.90 to the dollar compared with the 157.30 to the dollar on Friday.

Traders said the naira eased to 158.35 intraday before it finally settled at the 157.90 level, at the close of the market, on buying pressure from banks meeting their customers’ demand for dollars.

Reuters report said a trader said the central bank was not meeting all demand for dollars at the auction, while more customers were resorting to the interbank to fill their needs.

The naira has performed well against the dollar since the start of the year, largely driven up by offshore investors into local debt instruments, which currently offer attractive yields.

“We expect that the naira will rebound this week as speculation is that there’s an NNPC (state-owned energy company) plan to sell around $300 million to fill the market,” another dealer said.

At the bi-weekly auction, the central bank sold $150 million at 156.06 to the dollar, compared with $150 million sold at 156.01 to the dollar at the previous auction on Wednesday. (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Editing by Tim Cocks)