Naira in free fall, slumps to 502/$1, 710/£1

The Nigerian currency tumbled against the dollar, the pound sterling and the euro at the parallel market on Friday.

The naira fell to a record high of 502 per dollar at the parallel market from 499/$1 on Thursday. It tumbled to 710 per pound and 608 per euro from 703/£1 and 602/€1 on Thursday.

Markets Reporters had reported earlier that the naira looked set to hit a record low of 500 against the dollar for the first time in over six months amid the lingering scarcity of foreign exchange in the country.

The naira had on Nov. 30, 2020, plunged to 500/$1 at the parallel market but strengthened to 470/$1 on Jan. 7, 2021.

The local currency, which has been on a freefall in recent days, fell to 499 against the dollar at the parallel market on Thursday from 498 on Wednesday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira last week as it adopted the NAFEX exchange rate of N410.25 per dollar last Tuesday as its official exchange rate, days after removing the N379/$1 rate from its website.

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