By InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Thursday the interbank market rate closed at N197.10/$1 at the end of the day’s transactions compared to N202/$1 it closed on Wednesday.

Nigeria on Thursday shut down the interbank market for the second consecutive day as the naira continued to crumble due to falling oil prices, postponement of Feb. 14 elections and an Islamist insurgency.

A Reuters report said shortly after triggering a self-imposed ‘circuit-breaker’ agreed among themselves last month, dealers said the central bank was ringing round trying to gauge their appetite for dollars in what is turning into a full-scale currency rout.

The report says amid the confusion, the naira was quoted at a new record low of 206.60 to the dollar, extending its slide since the start of November to nearly 25 percent.

According to the report, the decline in Nigeria’s local currency piles even more pressure on Godwin Emefiele, central bank governor to devalue the currency for the second time in three (3) months.