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| Alade, Acting CBN governor |
Additional dollar sales by other multinational oil companies, Chevron, Addax, Shell and ExxonMobil also boosted support for the currency.
Forex Traders said the naira closed at 163.90 naira to the U.S. dollar, its strongest level since Feb. 19, when it closed at 163.80 naira and firmer than Tuesday's close of 164.70 naira.
Chevron sold about $31.7 million on Wednesday, while ExxonMobil and Addax sold $50 million and $10 million each late Tuesday, to boost dollar liquidity. The amount sold by the Shell was not disclosed, dealers said.
Dealers said expectation state-owned oil firm NNPC will sell the greenback before the end of the week led some lenders to offload their dollar positions to lock in current exchange rates.
NNPC, which account for the bulk of dollar traded on the interbank forex market, usually sells up to $400-$450 million in two tranches to some selected banks.
"We expect the naira to strengthen further as soon as the NNPC dollar hit the market this week," one dealer said.
The naira has stablised over the past week after the central bank hiked the cash reserves requirement on private sector deposits by 300 basis points to 15 percent, to curb liquidity.
Chevron sold about $31.7 million on Wednesday, while ExxonMobil and Addax sold $50 million and $10 million each late Tuesday, to boost dollar liquidity. The amount sold by the Shell was not disclosed, dealers said.
Dealers said expectation state-owned oil firm NNPC will sell the greenback before the end of the week led some lenders to offload their dollar positions to lock in current exchange rates.
NNPC, which account for the bulk of dollar traded on the interbank forex market, usually sells up to $400-$450 million in two tranches to some selected banks.
"We expect the naira to strengthen further as soon as the NNPC dollar hit the market this week," one dealer said.
The naira has stablised over the past week after the central bank hiked the cash reserves requirement on private sector deposits by 300 basis points to 15 percent, to curb liquidity.
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