Naira weakens on high dollar demand

The naira weakened against the United states’ dollar on the interbank market yesterday after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) failed to meet all foreign exchange demand at its official auction.

The local currency, according to Reuters News, closed at N162.25 to the dollar on the interbank, weaker than the N161.90 to the dollar on Friday.
“There is a lot of demand in the market, though we ordinarily should be seen declining demand for the dollar as companies and other end-users wind down for the year. This is not so,” one dealer said.

On the official window, the CBN sold $200 million at N156.70 to the dollar, short of the $248.62 million demanded. The regulator sold $200 million at N156.70 to the dollar last Wednesday.

“The naira actually appreciated towards the end of last week because of direct dollar sales by the central bank to some banks but we are not expecting any intervention in the market until middle week, so the naira could weaken further,” another dealer said.
Traders said the banking watchdog may close the official window for the year after Wednesday’s auction, but the regulator could continue to sell dollars directly to banks to clear arrears of demand to help support market stability.

Naira weakens on high dollar demand

And now in market (bureau de change) there is high demand in dollar because of it's scarcity.