Lagos - Nigeria's central bank asked commercial lenders to once again submit their dollar demand levels as the bank prepares to sell dollars to shore up the naira currency, dealers said on Monday.
The naira crashed through the psychologically important level of 200 to the dollar last week in a rout triggered by weak oil prices and escalating tension over the postponement of a presidential election in Africa's biggest economy.
Dealers said on Monday that the central bank had informed commercial banks that it would sell dollars to the interbank at 198 naira to the dollar, and that two-way trading on the interbank market will depend on the level of liquidity.
Lenders were also not allowed to re-sell central bank dollars among themselves on the interbank market to curb speculation, dealers said.
The central bank has pledged to stabilise the naira and has been deploying various measures. The bank injected large dollar supply on Friday to allow dealers fill their demand levels but banned them from re-selling dollars bought at a currency auction to other banks.
The bank's spokesman Ibrahim Muazu told Reuters on Friday that the central bank will continue to intervene on a “need basis” to satisfy dollar demand and curb speculative attacks, which he said was the reason behind the currency weakness and not devalue the naira again.
Reuters