ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria’s naira hit a new low of 620 against the dollar on the black market, where it is freely traded, traders said on Thursday.
Traders said individuals traveling for the summer holiday have worsened dollar scarcity, in addition to the rising demand for fuel and diesel import, to ease incessant power black outs plaguing Africa’s top economy.
The naira has fallen to successive record lows on the parallel market due to dollar scarcity since July last year after the central bank stopped forex sales to retail currency traders to ease pressure on reserves and support the official market.
The currency has been trading within a range in the official market.
It hit a low of 617 naira on the black market last week.
“We expect the naira to lose further ground against the dollar in the near term,” foreign exchange trading firm AZA Finance said in a note.
(Reporting by Chijioke OhuochaEditing by James Macharia Chege)
