Punch||The increasing pressure on the naira may have made the Central Bank of Nigeria’s weekly dollar sale at the Retail Dutch Auction System to increase by 260.5 per cent, according to the central bank’s statistics.
The data indicated the central bank offered a cumulative total of $3bn to defend the nation’s currency at the RDAS in January this year, while it offered only $832m within the same month last year.
The statistics showed that the central bank offered $3bn in eight regulated auctions through the RDAS.
Of this amount, over $2.95bn was bought by dealers at the Foreign Exchange Dutch Auction System.
The auctions were held on January 6, 8 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, and 29, 2014, with the central bank offering $350m, $400m, $350, $350, $350, $400, $400 and $400, respectively