Nigeria to inject dollars again into interbank market-traders

Nigeria's central bank will inject dollars into the banking system again on Wednesday to ease a shortage of foreign currency and take some pressure off the local unit, traders and banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
"There was a broadcast from the central bank yesterday (Monday) that we should provide cash backing for dollars sale on Wednesday," one dealer said.

Emefiele, central bank chief

The central bank also intervened in the market on Friday although the volume has not been disclosed, traders said.
Nigerian firms say they have struggled to get hold of enough foreign currency to pay for their imports as a fall in the country's revenues from oil, for which prices have been sliding, has dried up the supply and hammered the public finances.
The central bank had in February scrapped its bi-weekly currency auctions, restricting trading to the interbank foreign exchange market to curb speculation.
"We still have large unmet arrears of demand from our customers," another dealer said.
There was no immediate comment from the central bank.
Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele will hold a news conference on Tuesday following a meeting of the monetary policy committee.
A Reuters poll on Friday showed 17 of 20 analysts expect the bank to leave its benchmark rate unchanged at 13 percent, but some analysts say it will ease the cash reserve ratio on commercial banks.
Liquidity in the interbank market has fallen since last week as commercial banks have been forced to move government revenues into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) at the central bank.
The policy is part of new President Muhammadu Buhari's drive to fight corruption. But analysts say it could suck up as much as 10 percent of banking sector deposits in Africa's biggest economy - hitting banks' liquidity ratios.
Emefiele told Reuters last week he was ready to inject liquidity if needed.
The local currency is trading at 198.50 to the dollar on the interbank market, 1.50 naira above the peg rate of 197 to the dollar. It is stable at 222 naira to the dollar on the unofficial market.