Nigeria's central bank stepped up dollar sales this week after it auctioned the US and Chinese currencies last week in a bid to alleviate shortages and ease pressure on the naira. On Friday the bank said it sold a total of $543.22 million on the interbank market and another 63.21 million yuan ($9.20 million) to settle letters of credit denominated in the Chinese currency via spot and forward contracts, it said in a statement.
Last week the central bank asked lenders to submit bids for the Chinese yuan, its second auction of the currency after it agreed a swap with the People's Bank of China in May to boost trade between the two countries and cut reliance on the dollar. It sold $210 million on Thursday and $323.22 million on Friday after a dollar auction last week, the bank said. The central bank typically sells between $200 million and $300 million when it enters the interbank market, traders said.
The naira has been quoted as weak as 364 per dollar for investors this week after trading within a range of 362 to 363. On the official market, supported by the central bank, it was quoted at 306.10. The central bank said the naira was trading at 360 per dollar at exchange bureaus and the yuan sold for 53.17 naira.