Nigerian naira strongest in 2-weeks on NNPC dollar sale, reserves down

 Nigeria's naira  firmed to its strongest in two weeks against the dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday, after state-owned energy company NNPC sold around $400 million to lenders, traders said.

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The local unit closed at 163.80 to the dollar, 0.48 percent stronger than 164.60 the previous day. The naira was the firmest since Feb. 18, when it closed at 162.70 to the dollar.
Dollar sales by NNPC helped to meet high demand for dollars in money markets and eased pressure on the naira, which has been building since the removal of the Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi last month.
However, foreign exchange reserves had fallen to a 19-month low of $39.72 billion by March 3, data from central bank showed on Wednesday, as the regulator aggressively sells dollars to prop-up the naira currency.

Forex reserves have fallen 16.48 percent since this time last year and are down 7.13 percent in the last month. 

The reserves of Africa's top oil exporter and the continent's second biggest economy were the lowest since Aug. 6, 2012 when they stood at $39.55 billion.