The nation’s currency, the naira, on Tuesday firmed up against the US dollar at all segments of the foreign exchange market as a result of special intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the inter-bank market. At the inter-bank foreign exchange market, naira gained N0.53k/$ or 0.3 percent against the dollar as it closed at N199.86 compared to N200.39 the previous day, data obtained from Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ) revealed. The local currency remained stable at the parallel market and bureau de change segment, closing at N226.50k/$ and N225/$, respectively. On Monday, the naira strengthened 1.1 percent against the USD in the interbank and -8.5 percent year-to-date. Naira appreciation was attributed to strong dollar supplies from the CBN in addition to USD sales by oil companies, which helped support the naira. Nigeria’s naira hit a record low of N206.60 to the dollar in February, down 20 percent since its devaluation in November, and the central bank scrapped bi-weekly currency auctions in February to protect its haemorrhaging foreign reserves. On the other hand, the overnight tenor of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Offered Rates (NIBOR) on Tuesday rose by 0.42 percent to 11.37 percent from 10. 95 percent the previous day, according to data from FMDQ.
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