Naira Crashes to Record Low Ahead of Central Bank Rate Decision
- Spread between official and parallel market rates now 65%
- Slump in oil output exacerbates shortage of the greenback
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Nigeria’s naira declined further to record lows in both official and unauthorized markets ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria rate decision today.
The local currency unit weakened 1.18% in early morning trading to 436.42 against the dollar in the spot market as of 9 a.m. in the commercial capital of Lagos. It slipped to 720 a dollar in the parallel market from 715 last week, according to Abubakar Mohammed, an operator of a bureau de change that tracks the data. This has widened the gap between official and parallel market rates to 65%, the biggest spread since 2016.