Naira Flat On Dollar Sale By Oil Firm

The naira closed broadly flat against the U.S dollar on the interbank market on Monday as two multinational oil companies sold about $107 million to some lenders.


The unit ended flat at N161.48 to the greenback on the interbank, after weakening to N162 during intra-day trade. It closed at N161.45 on Friday.

Traders said the local unit of Exxon Mobil sold $72.2 million, while Italian oil firm Eni’s Nigerian unit sold $35 million.

Strong demand for the U.S. dollar has continued to mount pressure on the naira despite measures by the central bank to tighten liquidity in the banking system to curb speculation and prop up the local currency.

At a forex auction on Monday, the central bank sold $300 million at N155.76  to the dollar, compared with $290.5 million it sold the same rate at Wednesday’s auction.  Dealers say the naira may ease to the N162 mark against the greenback this week unless more oil firms sell the hard currency as part of their month-end dollar sale.