Naira Hits Record Low of 409 Per Dollar

The Nigerian Naira hit a record low against the US dollar on Thursday, following the Central Bank of Nigeria decision to ban nine banks from the inter-bank market.

Naira closed at 402 a dollar on Wednesday depreciated to 409 against the greenback on Thursday at the parallel market.

Currency traders have said the surge in demand pressure the dollar — parents paying school fees of their children studying overseas and summer travelers had been exacerbated by the ban.

Although, the apex bank on Wednesday readmitted the United Bank for Africa Plc into the forex market, the remaining eight lenders are yet to resume trading.

“The suspension of some banks from transaction in the forex market has really increased pressure on the market,” the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, said.