FG to auction FX via book building to airlines, importers -traders

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to auction an undisclosed amount of dollars through book building to settle a backlog of demand for airlines, fuel and raw material imports, traders said.
Traders said the CBN had asked lenders to bid for hard currency for specific sectors in efforts to improve dollar liquidity.
It said a cut-off rate at the auction would be applied at the marginal rate and that obligations due on fuel imports must have matured before January 31 to qualify for the intervention.
The bank has been intervening aggressively since February to try to narrow the spread between the official and black market rates and has sold more than $4 billion. In theory, greater liquidity should lead rates to converge.
The local currency was quoted at 381.71 per dollar at the investor window, according to the market regulator FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
It fetched 305.60 in the interbank window and 390 on the black market.
Credit: Reuters