Nigerian naira flat vs dollar on oil firms' sales

The Nigerian naira closed unchanged against the dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday, after two days public holiday to mark a Muslim festival, supported by dollar sales by two major energy companies.
The local unit closed at 161.85 to the dollar, the same level it closed at on Friday before the holiday.
A unit of Royal Dutch Shell sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to some lenders, while Eni sold $5 million.
Month-end dollar sales by some energy companies have continued to provide support for the local currency in the last two weeks, keeping it within the band of 161.50-162 against the dollar.
"We see the naira stable around the present band in the near term, with more dollars expectated from some energy companies," one dealer said.