Nigeria's naira hits new lows on spot and forwards market

Nigeria's naira currency hit a record low against the dollar after the spot market closed on Wednesday, and forwards contracts also hit new lows on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed. The naira has been highly volatile since the central bank liberalised foreign exchange trading last week with the blessing of new President Bola Tinubu.

Nigeria's naira currency hit a record low against the dollar after the spot market closed on Wednesday, and forwards contracts also hit new lows on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed.

The naira has been highly volatile since the central bank liberalised foreign exchange trading last week with the blessing of new President Bola Tinubu. Tinubu has called for the central bank to unify the country's multiple exchange rates, which his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari's government used to keep the naira strong.

He suspended Godwin Emefiele, the central bank governor who served throughout Buhari's two terms as president. Refinitiv data showed $5 million was sold at 815 naira per dollar in an after-market deal, the weakest the Nigerian currency has traded.

The data showed $590,000 was sold at 814 naira to the dollar. The currency traded as low as 799 to the dollar on the spot market on Thursday after opening at 733 naira.

"The market is going through price discovery, it will take weeks to stabilise," one trader said. On Thursday, the one-month forward quoted the naira at 760 to the dollar, down from 730 at Wednesday's close.