The naira yesterday eased the third day this week by 31 kobo against the dollar, closing at N158.58/$ as against N158.27/$ on Wednesday at inter-bank market.
The naira fell against the dollar at the inter-bank market due to strong demand by end-users, Sewa Wusu, head of research, Sterling Capital, told BusinessDay in a text message.
According to him, this potentially pulled down the naira. “Besides, the anticipated month-end forex sales by oil companies came in at a relatively small space. This could give naira the needed strength”, he said.
Wusu had predicted that naira would appreciate within a couple of days if the oil companies make their month-end sales. The nation’s currency on Wednesday depreciated significantly against the dollar by 53 kobo to close at N158.2750/$ as against N157.80/$, according to the data from the Financial Markets Dealers (FMDA).
Analysts who spoke with BusinessDay on Wednesday attributed the naira fall to withdrawal of offshore dollar transactions by two foreign banks operating in the country. As a result of this, there was increased demand for dollar.
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