The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold $876.26 million to end customers through bids filed by 26 banks.

According to a circular sent by the apex bank on Wednesday, the action is intended to bolster the sliding naira.

The news comes as the naira is under strain due to seasonal demand from summer tourism and businesses looking for the dollar to bring goods into the import-dependent country.

According to the circular, 32 authorised dealer banks submitted bids totaling $1.18 billion.

Bids valued at US$876.26 million from 26 banks qualified, while bids valued at US$313.69 million from six institutions were rejected.

Four banks were disqualified because they submitted proposals after the 3:00 PM deadline, and two banks failed to offer bids in the required format. Furthermore, all bids on the Trade Portal that included Form Q and unverifiable Forms A and M were invalidated.

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

The detailed findings and qualified bids will be made available on the CBN’s website to ensure openness.

Settlement for approved bids is set for Thursday, August 8, 2024.

The sale followed “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,” according to an Abuja-based Central Bank of Nigeria circular to lenders last week.