Naira hits another record low outside CBN’s new target

The naira hit yet another record low against the dollar on Tuesday, trading outside the target band set by the central bank last week after the bank auctioned dollars at the currency’s newly devalued rate, dealers said.

The currency traded at 187.55 naira on the interbank market, or 6.2 percent below the lower end of the new band, shortly after the market opened, as dealers scrambled to fill orders not met at a central bank’s twice-weekly auction on Monday.

It sold about $169 million dollars at 168 naira at the auction versus last week’s rate of 165 naira, dealers said, compared with its usual $200 million and $300 million at previous auctions.

The bank has also been selling dollars daily to commercial lenders to try to prop up the currency.