Naira firms on black market as CBN sells dollars

Nigeria's central bank sold $80 million to bureaux de change (BDC) operators on Wednesday at 197 naira helping the local currency strengthen on the parallel market, the president of the association of forex dealers said.

The naira was quoted at 221 on the parallel market, up 1.36 percent on the day, after dollar liquidity rose, traders said.

On the interbank market, the naira ended at the bank's pegged rate of 197 to the dollar.

Aminu Gwadabe, president of Nigeria's bureaux de change association, told Reuters that the central bank has started to sell dollars twice weekly to BDCs since last week.