Demand for the US dollar soared this week at the two dutch auctions of foreign exchange conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with US$343 million sold at the auctions, against US$168 million traded last week.
The first auction held on Monday had US$163 million traded, even though the CBN offered US$80 million to the 19 banks that participated
The remainder came from other sources.
Demand rose higher at the second auction, with a total of US$180 million sold at the auction Wednesday, out of which the apex bank offered US$100 million.
Meanwhile, the naira remained stable against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market this week, remaining at 125.38 to the dollar.
It however appreciated against the pound sterling to 256.78 to a pound, against the previous week’s rate of 257.96.
