The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold $876.26m to end users whose bids were submitted by 26 banks.

A circular released by the apex bank on Wednesday said the move was to boost the falling naira rate

The development comes as the naira comes under pressure through seasonal demand from summer tourism and businesses seeking the greenback to bring in goods to the import-dependent nation.

According to the circular, total bids came to US$1.18bn which was received from 32 authorised dealer banks.

Of this, bids valued at US$876.26 million from 26 banks qualified, while bids valued at US$313.69 million from six banks were disqualified.

The disqualifications were due to four banks submitting bids after the 3:00 PM cutoff time and two banks failing to provide bids in the required template. Additionally, all bids with Form Q and unverifiable Forms A and M on the Trade Portal were disqualified.

The CBN approved a cut-off rate of N1495/US$ for the Retail Dutch Auction.

The detailed results and qualified bids will be published on the CBN’s website to ensure transparency.

Settlement for the successful bids is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2024.

The sale follows “growing unmet foreign exchange demand” which has “continued to increase the demand pressure in the foreign exchange market, with adverse impact on the exchange rate of the naira,” the Abuja-based Central Bank of Nigeria said in a circular to lenders last week.