ABUJA, July 18 Reuters Nigeria39;s central bank on Thursday sold the dollar at 1,450 naira to retail exchange bureaux to prop up the currency, saying that distortions in the retail market was feeding into parallel markets and widening the country39;s exchange rate premium.

The naira hit a new low of 1,640 per dollar on Thursday, the same level it traded at on the parallel market.

It touched a fourmonth low of 1,612.50 naira on the official market on Wednesday, LSEG data showed.

The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has observed the continued distortions in the retail end of the market, which is feeding into the parallel market and further widening the exchange rate premium, it said in a circular.

To this end, the CBN has approved the sales of FX to eligible bureau de change BDC to meet the demand for invisible transactions. The sum of 20,000 is to be sold to each BDC.

Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by David Goodman and Jason Neely

Source Reuters