Naira firms as offshore fund position for bonds

The naira firmed against the U.S. dollar on Monday, after some offshore funds bought the local currency to participate in the debt market in Nigeria, dealers said.

The naira closed at N162.36 to the greenback, marginally firmer than Friday’s close of 162.40 naira.

Dealers said the Nigerian units of some foreign banks sold the hard currency on Monday, to be able to participate in the bond market on behalf of their offshore clients, boosting support for the naira.

The naira eased against the dollar last week after some importers brought forward their obligation to tap into the month-end liquidity boost provided by oil companies selling the greenback to meet their local obligations, dealers said.

Dealers are waiting for the state-owned oil company NNPC, which accounts for bulk of the dollars traded on the interbank market, to sell dollars soon.