Nigeria's naira firmed 0.46 percent on Friday, recovering from near record lows against the dollar after central bank intervention, dealers said.
The naira closed at 184.90 to the dollar, strengthening from 188.80 during mid-day trades before the intervention. It closed at 185.75 the previous day.
The central bank has been selling dollars on the interbank market to help the naira and also to meet demand for hard currency. The naira is still under pressure from much reduced prices for Nigeria's oil exports.
The bank invited 21 commercial lenders to bid for $500,000 each on Friday, dealers said, adding that dollar demand in the market was still significant.
The central bank was forced to devalue the naira two months ago to halt the slide in its foreign reserves and has tightened trading rules to try to curb speculation.
Even so, the naira has traded well outside its devalued band of 160-176 per dollar and reserves fell 3.2 percent month-on-month to $34.51 billion by Jan. 13, according to central bank data.
The central bank will hold its first monetary policy meeting for 2015 next Tuesday, with analysts expecting the bank to keep liquidity tight to support the naira. Several analysts expect interest rates to be left on hold at 13 percent.
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