Nigeria naira hits two-week high on cenbank intervention

Nigeria's naira hit a two-week closing high of 162.65 against the dollar on Wednesday, after the central bank sold greenbacks directly to lenders to prop up the local currency, dealers said.
The local unit closed 0.76 percent firmer on the day, a level last seen on Sept. 9, compared with the previous day's close of 163.90 naira. Dealers said the central bank sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to the interbank market.
The naira has been falling for the past two weeks, weakened by the impact of the decline in global oil prices and low offshore inflows into the debt and equity markets, dealers said.
Currency traders said Italy's Eni sold $18 million on Wednesday while France's Total sold $128 million on Tuesday, as part of their month-end dollar sales, which helped lift the naira.