Currency Redesign Plan Sparks Rush to Buy Dollars in Nigeria
- Naira plummets as residents try to exchange for dollars
- Gap between official and black market rates soars above 85%
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The naira extended its decline against the dollar on the widely used illegal market as Nigerians rushed to buy greenbacks a week after the central bank said it would redesign higher-value notes.
Currency traders in the unauthorized parallel market offered naira at rates between 830 to 850 per dollar on Wednesday in Lagos, said Umar Salisu, a bureau de change operator who tracks the data in the nation’s commercial capital. The record low level further widens the spread from the official exchange rate, which also weakened to an unprecedented 443.11 to the dollar as of 1.44 p.m. in Lagos, to the largest-ever gap of more than 88%.