Naira, yesterday, continued its strong showing, as it was exchanged for N1,263.753 in the parallel market. This comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reaped N652 billion from its Open Market Operation (OMO) bill auction, resulting in the sale of N676.65 billion at a 21 per cent interest rate to investors.
The apex bank has sustained juicy interest rates to reduce liquidity from the financial system and employed instruments to attract portfolio investors.
The longest 363-day bills attract bigger returns on investment at 21.1250 per cent, with the CBN trading at N652.40 billion due to the admiration of preferred higher-yielding and long-term securities.
On the other hand, offering N75 billion, the 97-day bills, which are the shortest, attracted a subscription of N17 billion, with a total sale that indicated a stop rate of 19.00 per cent.
Also, the 188-day bills, with the same N75 billion on offer, saw subscription at N20.25 billion, which reflected a conservative interest from investors. The clearing stop rate of 19.50 per cent resulted in sales worth N7.25 billion which is significantly below the amount offered.
In the parallel market, the British Pound exchanged for N1,602.679, while the Euro went for N1,371.821 and the Canadian Dollar was pegged at N906.758.
