The naira gained for a second day, advancing to its strongest in a week as oil companies sold dollars to meet month-end local expenses.
The currency appreciated by 0.4 per cent to N157.35 per dollar, the strongest intraday level since February 25.
Oil producing companies, which sell dollars to meet local expenses around the month-end, are the second-biggest source of foreign currency after the Central Bank of Nigeria, which sells dollars at auctions on Mondays and Wednesdays to help manage the exchange rate.
Bloomberg quoted analysts as saying that the appreciation of the naira was due to end-of-month dollar sales by the international oil companies, which increased the supply of the greenback at the inter-bank market.
The CBN held the benchmark interest rate at a record high of 12 per cent for an eighth straight time on January 21 to control inflation and stabilise the naira.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the nation’s inflation rate fell to nine per cent in January from 12 per cent in December.
The yield on the country’s 16.39 per cent domestic bonds due in January 2022 rose by two basis points to 10.62 per cent, according to March 1 data compiled on the Financial Markets Dealers Association website.