Nigeria naira falls to record intra-day low after FX sale to offshore funds

ABUJA: Nigeria's naira traded at a record intra-day low of 436.81 against the dollar on Wednesday, after the central bank sold $20 million this week to funds seeking to repatriate profits abroad in its first sale to foreign investors, traders said.

The bank sold dollars on the 150-day forward markets at 435.81 naira, traders said, near the low on the over-the-counter spot market. It offered the dollar at 410 naira for spot.

The non-deliverable forwards market quoted the naira at 434 to the US dollar in six months' time.

Dollar demand has been swelling and piling pressure on the naira. Importers with past due obligations have scrambled for hard currency while providers of foreign exchange, such as offshore investors, have exited.

Foreign investors sold Nigerian assets last year as coronavirus lockdowns stalled economic activity and triggered a crash in the price of oil, the country's main export.

The bank last sold dollars to foreign investors in December up to when it had sold $50 million three times a week, traders said.

The central bank has in the past urged investors to be patient, saying funds can exit in an orderly fashion.

The naira has been quoted at 482 naira to the dollar on the black market, compared with the official rate of 381 naira set in July and backed by the central bank.