Nigeria's central bank intervening in currency market: traders

A trader changes dollars for naira at a currency exchange store in Lagos, Nigeria, February 12, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank asked for bid-offer quotes from currency traders on Monday as it sold dollars on the interbank market to boost liquidity, traders said. After abandoning the naira's 16-month old exchange rate peg a week ago, the central bank sold dollars at an auction to clear a backlog of demand and keep markets active. Currency traders said they had tightened the differential between bids and offers to 0.5 naira from one naira set when the currency was floated last week. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Catherine Evans)