Nigerian naira at 7-week high as oil firm, funds sell dollars

The Nigerian naira firmed to a seven-week high on Tuesday after the local unit of ExxonMobil sold $50 million to some lenders and offshore funds bought the local currency to participate in a debt auction, dealers said.
The local unit closed at 161.90 naira, up 0.24 percent on the day at a level last seen on May 22, when it closed at 161.81. "The market has been very liquid," one dealer said.
The naira gained for the second consecutive day against the U.S. currency on oil company dollar sales. In addition to ExxonMobil, dealers said Brass LNG sold $1 million, while local units of some foreign banks sold an undisclosed amount for offshore clients participating in a government bond auction.
Nigeria plans to auction 100 billion naira ($617.9 mln) in government bonds on Wednesday.