Nigeria’s Naira Sinks to Record Low After Liquidity Shrinks
- Dollar trading volumes decline more than 60% to $89.6 million
- Weakening naira adds pressure ahead of rate-setting meeting
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The naira plunged to a record low against the dollar as availability of the US currency in Nigerian markets declined sharply, adding pressure on the central bank to raise rates to attract foreign-exchange inflows at its policy meeting the week after next.
Nigeria’s currency weakened 4.2% to close at 1,534.39 in the so-called NAFEM window on Monday, according to data published by FMDQ, which calculates the exchange rate. It is the lowest that the currency has traded against the dollar since Bloomberg started compiling the data.