CBN auctions dollars at N168, close to its new mid-band

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold the dollar at its new target mid-band of 168 naira at its forex auction on Monday, depreciating the currency by 1.78 percent from 165 naira it had auctioned the unit at its previous auction, dealers said.

The bank sold around $169 million to lenders at the auction, short of meeting demand for the greenback, dealers said, pushing the excess demand to the interbank market. The bank devalued the naira by 8 percent against the dollar last week.

The naira hit 187.55 in the interbank market shortly after it opened, as dealers scrambled to fill demand orders not met at the central bank auction the previous day.