Naira falls to record low against the dollar as reserves fall

Naira has fallen to a record low against the dollar as reserves fall.

Nigerian naira weakened to a record low against the dollar on Tuesday as the central bank continues to face pressure from dwindling foreign exchange inflows amid falling oil production.

The naira weakened 0.27% to 435.60 to the greenback on the spot market as of 12:52pm local time in Lagos, the lowest the currency has ever traded, according to Bloomberg data. In the parallel market, where the currency is freely traded, the naira weakened to 691.13 from 689.23 on Monday, according to @naira_rates, a twitter handle that tracks the rates.

Foreign exchange inflows into Africa’s biggest crude producer declined 2.4% to $1.5 billion in the three months to June from the previous quarter despite higher oil prices. The country’s external reserves fell to $39 billion on Sept. 1 from $40 billion in December.