Nigeria’s naira rose, snapping three days of declines, after the central bank increased its supply of dollars at an auction. The currency of Africa’s biggest oil producer gained less than 0.1 percent to 157.7 a dollar as of 11:20 a.m. in Lagos, the commercial capital. The naira has advanced 2.9 percent this year, the second-best performer in Africa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Central Bank of Nigeria sells dollars to lenders at twice-weekly foreign-currency auctions to help manage the exchange rate. The regulator increased the amount of dollars it sold yesterday to $180 million, the most in two weeks, from $66 million on Dec. 10. The naira’s appreciation this year could be traced to tight monetary conditions, improved supply of foreign exchange to the market by oil companies and increased inflows from portfolio investors, central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said Nov. 20 after the regulator held its benchmark rate at a record-high 12 percent. Yields on 10-year naira debt fell five basis points to 11.89 percent, according to yesterday’s prices compiled on the Financial Markets Dealers Association website. Borrowing costs on the nation’s $500 million of Eurobonds due January 2021 declined one basis point to 4.15 percent today. Ghana’s cedi gained 0.1 percent to 1.8934 per dollar in Accra, the capital. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Kay in Abuja at ckay5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vernon Wessels at vwessels@bloomberg.net

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