ABUJA – Nigeria naira weakened to an all-time low of 334.50 against the dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday, a day after the central bank hiked
interest rates to try to lure foreign investors back into local assets, traders said.
The naira fell 5.8 percent on Wednesday from its opening rate, and $10 million was traded at the new record low.
Traders said investors were pushing the currency lower to test the limit of how far it can fall, given a spread of almost 12 percent between the official and black market naira rates.
“If we have more people trying to buy the naira then it should strengthen. I think we will keep seeing the trickles … I don’t think we will see large inflows until the fundamentals of the economy improves,” one trader said. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by John Stonestreet)
