Naira sinks further, crossing N170 line

Nigeria’s Naira sank to its lowest intraday level in almost five-years of 171.65 as the Nigerian central bank moved to curb excess dollar demand at its foreign exchange auctions, instead shifting demand to the interbank market, amid tight supply.

The Naira slide followed CBN’s ban on the sale of dollars to importers of telecom equipment, power generators and finished products at its foreign exchange auction, instead shifting demand to the interbank market.

The central bank also restricted lenders and discount houses from placing more than 7.5 billion naira ($44 mln) each as deposits with the regulator, swelling interbank Naira liquidity.