By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian naira on Wednesday firmed against greenback as it was lifted by dollar sales by oil multinationals according to Reuters report.

The report said the naira closed on Wednesday at N162.05 to the U.S. dollar, compared to N162.20 recorded on Tuesday.

Reuters quoted dealers as saying that ExxonMobil sold $50 million and Eni sold $5 million on Wednesday to boost dollar liquidity, in addition to Total and Chevron which both sold a combined $117 million on Tuesday.

A dealer was quoted as saying that the naira is expected to stay within this range this week as more oil firms sell dollars, and that the liquidity provided support for the naira at the 162 level.

According to the report, Nigerian multinational oil firms usually buy the naira towards the end of the month to meet their local obligations.

It further affirmed that dealers expect potential inflows from offshore investors buying local currency debt following news that Nigeria’s 2024 bond will be added to JP Morgan’s Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) on August 29.