The naira gained, heading for the first weekly gain in nine, after the central bank pledged to intervene to support the currency hit by lower oil prices.
The naira strengthened 0.3% to 164.68 per dollar as of 1:45 p.m. in Lagos, the commercial capital. It reached a 7-month intraday low of 166.42 yesterday before Sarah Alade, a deputy governor at the central bank, said the institution would use foreign reserves to defend the value of the currency.
“The market has reacted to that,” Ayodele Akinwunmi, an analyst at First Securities Discount House Ltd. in Lagos, said by phone. “It was important for them to outline what their policy is likely to be.”
Since mid-September, the Central Bank of Nigeria has sold dollars to banks outside of its regular auctions on Mondays and Wednesdays, according to Standard Chartered Plc. (STAN) While reserves of Africa’s biggest oil producer shrunk to $39.1 billion on Oct. 22, compared with $43.6 billion at the end of 2013, they still equate to seven months of import cover, which is high enough for the central bank to continue backing the naira, said Akinwunmi.
Brent crude declined 1.2% to $85.77 per barrel. It fell to a four-year low of $82.93 on Oct. 16, having closed at $112.60 on June 24.

RUFIN To Assist Microfinance Banks, Others, Access N220bn MSME Fund

Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) has said that it would facilitate access of microfinance banks, cooperatives and other organizations to the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises (MSME) funds.
The coordinator of RUFIN in Lagos state, Mrs. Funmi Bello, stated this in Lagos at the opening of a three-day workshop organised by RUFIN for the banks and other financial institutions.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan launched the N220 billion MSME fund on August 19, 2014 to facilitate the growth of small and medium businesses in the country.
According to Bello, in facilitating access to the fund, RUFIN will be fulfilling its objective of full financial penetration to the rural areas in the country to reduce poverty, especially among woman and the physically-challenged.
“As we all know, most Nigerians in remote areas lack access to credit. RUFIN will facilitate access to the fund by asking interested parties to present their applications for verifications.
“In the workshop, we are going to scrutinise people that are interested. We will ask them to bring their application forms.
“We will help them to access the application based on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines, and we will assist microfinance banks, institutions, cooperatives and NGOs that meet the requirements to submit their forms directly to CBN,” she said.
Bello stressed that RUFIN was determined to ensure that Nigerians, especially those in remote parts of the country, had access to the fund.
She disclosed that the organization had penetrated and sensitized people in Epe, Badagry and Ikorodu Local Government Areas in Lagos state, and had linked no fewer than 4,000 business groups with financial institutions in the state.
Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) has said that it would facilitate access of microfinance banks, cooperatives and other organizations to the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises (MSME) funds.
The coordinator of RUFIN in Lagos state, Mrs. Funmi Bello, stated this in Lagos at the opening of a three-day workshop organised by RUFIN for the banks and other financial institutions.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan launched the N220 billion MSME fund on August 19, 2014 to facilitate the growth of small and medium businesses in the country.
According to Bello, in facilitating access to the fund, RUFIN will be fulfilling its objective of full financial penetration to the rural areas in the country to reduce poverty, especially among woman and the physically-challenged.
“As we all know, most Nigerians in remote areas lack access to credit. RUFIN will facilitate access to the fund by asking interested parties to present their applications for verifications.
“In the workshop, we are going to scrutinise people that are interested. We will ask them to bring their application forms.
“We will help them to access the application based on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines, and we will assist microfinance banks, institutions, cooperatives and NGOs that meet the requirements to submit their forms directly to CBN,” she said.