Nigerian naira hits 5-week high vs dollar

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira currency rose to a five week high against the U.S dollar on the interbank market on Monday, spurred by dollar sales by state-owned energy company NNPC and two other oil multinational firms, traders said.

The naira closed at 157.32 to the dollar on the interbank, firmer than the 158.10 to the dollar it closed at on Friday. The currency of Africa's second biggest economy was last seen at this level on January 28, when it closed at 157.15 to the dollar.

Traders said the NNPC sold about $400 million, Chevron sold $126.8 million, while a unit of Royal Dutch Shell sold an unspecified amount of dollars to some lenders, helping to support the local currency.

"We experienced a surge in dollar inflows from some of the major energy companies, which increased the level of liquidity in the market and provided support for the naira," one dealer said.

On the twice-weekly forex auction, the central bank sold $234.93 million at 155.75 to the dollar, less than the $250 million it initially offered and less than the $200 million sold at the previous auction last week, which was at the same rate.

"The major players (oil firms) in the market have sold dollars and we expect that the naira will gradually lose value as dollar liquidity thins out," another dealer said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nigerian-naira-hits-5-week-high-vs-dollar-140429735--finance.html

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