Nigeria Naira Falls to Month Low on Investors’ Oil Concerns

The Nigerian naira reached the lowest in more than a month as investors were said to slow purchases of Nigerian bonds after oil prices weakened and output in Africa’s top crude producer missed a forecast.

The currency of the continent’s most populous country depreciated 0.3 percent to 159.35 per US dollar by 12:18 p.m. in Lagos, the commercial capital, the lowest on an intraday basis since March 18. The naira has retreated 2 percent this year and is set for a third weekly decline, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Nigeria depends on oil shipments for 80 percent of government revenue and 95 percent of its export income. Bonny Light, one of its main grades, has slipped from this year’s peak of US$120.54 per barrel reached on February 8 to US$105.51 today. Production fell below projections in the first quarter due to theft and pipeline sabotage, state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said last week. Output ranged from 2.1 million barrels a day to 2.3 million barrels, below an estimated 2.48 million barrels.

Read more: BusinessWeek