Nigeria’s naira currency closed unchanged against the U.S dollar on the interbank market and firmed marginally at the official window on Monday, as dollar sales by oil companies comfortably met rising dollar demand in the market.

The naira closed flat at 157.15 to the dollar on the interbank.

Traders said units of France Total sold $42 million, Agip sold $22 million and Addax $7 million to some lenders.

“The naira went as low as 157.40/$ intraday because of strong buying by some importers taking advantage of the cheaper dollar at the interbank, but strengthened to close at 157.15 after some oil companies sold dollars,” one dealer said.

The naira had rallied to 156.45 to the dollar on Thursday, its strongest in 5 weeks on the interbank market, driven by dollar sales by state-owned energy firm NNPC, but strong demand for the dollar has since held down the local unit.

The currency firmed marginally at the bi-weekly foreign exchange auction, as the central bank sold $104 million at 155.75 to the dollar, compared with $177.9 million at 155.77 to the dollar at the last auction on Wednesday.

Traders said the naira should gradually inch down in the coming days as more buying pressure hits the market.

“The market is currently trading below the effective central bank rate and we are not expecting it to stay there for long, unless there are further dollar inflows into the market,” another dealer said.

The exchange rate at the official window is calculated with an additional one percent commission on each dollar purchased at the auction.

Source: Reuters (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Editing by Tim Cocks)