Nigerian central bank intervenes for third time this week, naira falls

Nigeria's central bank intervened for the third time this week with dollar sales to try to support the naira on Thursday, but the local currency lost 0.24 percent on the day to hit 164.90 against the greenback, dealers said.
The naira closed at 164.50 per dollar on Wednesday.
The naira currency has lost 3.2 percent this year, hit by lower foreign capital flows and last week's suspension of Nigeria's central bank governor, a critic of the government's record on corruption.
"No amount of intervention can change the direction of the market because of the high levels of demand," one dealer said, adding that he was taking a short-term view on the naira.
"People know that intervention does not solve the fundamental issue of low inflows and declining reserves."
The central bank sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to banks on Thursday to calm forex market volatility after the currency hit 165.50 naira. But the move was outweighed by dollar demand, dealers said.