Nigerian foreign reserves fall 20.5 pct to $23.95 bln by Oct. 27 -central bank

Nigeria's foreign currency reserves fell 20.5 percent year-on-year to $23.95 billion by Oct. 27, down 2.7 percent month-on-month, central bank data showed on Monday.
The central bank has been selling dollars to support the weakening naira <NGN=D1>, hit by low oil prices that have triggered the first recession for 25 years.
The central bank will sell $500 million currency forwards at an auction to clear demand backlog from manufacturers, traders said on Monday, as the regulator tries to find ways to resolve a chronic dollar shortage plaguing the West African nation.