Naira weakens at inter-bank market, stable at auction

The naira weakened against the United States dollar at the inter-bank market on Wednesday, but held steady at the bi-weekly currency auction even as strong demand for the greenback persisted at the inter-bank.The local currency closed weaker at N158.75 to the dollar at the inter-bank market from N157.70 the previous day.Reuters quoted dealers as saying, The naira closed stronger yesterday (Tuesday) as a result of direct dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria to some banks toward the close of the market.The CBN has successfully curtailed the volatility in the market through its regular intervention, so we see the naira fluctuating between N157.50 to N159 figure in the near term.Traders added that the naira weakened on Wednesday even when the CBN cleared all demand at its bi-weekly auction because more airline companies and other major firms excluded from the official window were buying dollars.
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