By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The naira on Monday continued its low trend as it traded N241 per dollar on the black market, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restrictions fed unofficial trade in dollars, a Reuters report quoted traders.

The report said the naira weakened by 1.0 per dollar on the black market to another record low on Monday as importers banned from accessing hard currency at the official interbank market by the CBN three (3) weeks ago scramble for hard currency in the unofficial market, a Nigerian currency trader said.

“Low oil prices have battered the currency and government finances,” the report affirmed.

It reported the central bank has said it would not be focusing on the thinly-traded parallel market when determining the exchange rate, adding that people preferred to use the unofficial market for undocumented transactions.

While Proshare reported that today, the pressure against the nation’s currency persisted as it fell to hit new low in the recent times, closing at N244 compared to the dollar.

 “The fear factor continues to rise, increasing speculative activities as uncertainties around the direction of the economy remains unanswered,” the Proshare report said.

Similarly, Nigeria’s local currency plunged against the pound sterling in the black market to close at N364, representing 0.83 percent fall from its previous close of N361.

Meanwhile, the CBN in its usual email statement said the Interbank Rate closed at N196.95/US$ on Monday, 13th July, 2015.