UPDATE 4-Nigeria naira hits record low on futures market for five-year settlement

(Adds naira's rate on futures market for five-year settlement)
By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira hit a record low
of 600 to the dollar on the futures market for five-year
settlement on Friday, traders said, after the black market
eased, showing the severity of the liquidity scarcity on the
spot market.
The central bank weakened the currency on the derivatives
market, traders said. The naira earlier fell to a low of 495 on
the black market, widening the gap with the bank's official rate
of 381 set in July. It also eased on the spot market.
Traders said the central bank reviewed contracts twice this
week. The naira has suffered as oil revenues declined, prompting
the central bank to restrict access to the official window,
causing the black market to flourish.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Friday the government
was concerned about the exchange rate gap between the black and
official markets, a situation caused by low revenues from oil,
Nigeria's main export.
"We have been trying to take measures to close the gap and
the progress is not as much as we hope," Ahmed told Bloomberg
Television. "The reason why we have the gap is because of the
decline in the revenues from the oil and gas industry."
Oil revenues, the major source of foreign exchange for
Nigeria, declined the most in about 14 quarters, pushing the
economy into its second recession in four years, she said.
Officials expects the recession to end by the first quarter.
"There is high demand and very low supply and the central
bank has put in a process where there is queuing ... we do hope
that we will be able to get to an even level ... so that the
impact on the exchange rate will become moderated," she said.
Analysts say the central bank's latest action on the
currency raises doubts over Nigeria's commitment to reforms,
denting hopes for a shift towards a market-driven exchange rate
after the bank dismissed the black-market rate.
"There is mounting evidence that the country's FX
restrictions are hurting the economy," Capital Economics wrote
in a note.
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele responded on Tuesday
to calls for further depreciation of the naira -- which has
weakened by 28% this year -- by saying the black-market rate
should not be used to determine the naira's value.