Business
Naira Appreciates As Dollar Sale Rises
The Naira appreciated, paring its biggest five-day decline in six weeks, as the Central Bank of Nigeria sold the most dollars this year at an auction and oil companies also sold the United States currency.
The currency of Africa’s biggest oil producer gained 0.2 per cent to N158.10 per dollar in Lagos, the commercial capital, giving a 0.4 per cent retreat last week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The CBN sold $200 million at an auction on Febriuary 27, the most this year, bringing sales last week to $350 million, the highest in eight. Oil-producing companies, which sell dollars to lenders around the month-end to meet local spending needs, are the second-biggest source of foreign currency after the CBN.
The Chief Executive Officer, Forward Marketing Bureau de Change Limited, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed said, “The CBN sale this week was an intervention to boost dollar supply and ease pressure on the Naira. Sales by oil companies complemented official supply.”