The Nigerian naira traded at an all-time low of 365.25 to the dollar on Thursday in a single interbank market trade of $1 million, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Interbank trading started two hours after the market opened and offered the currency sharply lower against the dollar. A total of $13 million had been traded by 1235 GMT.
In its own report, Bloomberg news agency reported that Nigeria’s naira plunged to a record low and forwards rose, suggesting traders expect further depreciation, as Africa’s second-largest oil producer struggles amid a dearth of dollars.
The naira fell 6.3 percent to 348.75 against the dollar by 3:08 p.m. in Lagos, the commercial capital. Three-month non-deliverable forward contracts climbed 4.1 percent to 364.5 versus the greenback, heading for a record close.
Contracts maturing in a year rose 3.5 percent to 403, also a record.
Nigeria’s currency has slumped 38 percent since the central bank ended a 16-month peg of 197-199 per dollar on June 20. The capital controls needed to defend the fix sent foreign investors fleeing and took the West African country to the brink of recession. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 1.8 percent contraction of the economy this year.
