Nigeria's central bank sells dollars at 162.5 naira, breaches its band

LAGOS: Nigeria's central bank auctioned dollars at 162.50 naira at its official forex window, outside its preferred band of 150-160 and ahead of a key interest rate decision on Tuesday.

It the second time in a row it has auctioned the currency outside a band it burst out of in May.

It auctioned the greenback at 158.41 to the dollar at its previous session.

The naira, which is down 9 percent this year, hit a record low at the interbank window on Monday on concerns that a slide in global oil prices could undermine the central bank's efforts to keep defending the currency, dealers said.