The naira depreciated for a second day, heading for
the biggest drop in a week, after the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN reduced the
amount of dollars sold at an auction yesterday.
The currency weakened 0.3 per cent, the most since
February 27 on a closing basis, to N158.05 cent per dollar.
The apex bank said in an e-mailed statement that the
CBN sold $150 million, down from $234.9 million at the previous sale on March 4.
The regulator holds dollar auctions on Mondays and
Wednesdays to help manage the exchange rate.
Oil companies, which sell dollars to lenders to meet
local spending needs, are the second-biggest source of foreign currency.
Chief Executive of Lagos-based Forward Marketing
Bureau de Change Limited, Abubakar Mohammed said CBN’s level of intervention
wasn’t enough to meet demand at the interbank market, as oil industry month-end
sales have declined.
The CBN held the benchmark interest rate at a record
high 12 per cent for an eighth time on January 21 to control inflation and
stabilise the naira.
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