UPDATE 1-Nigeria's naira drops to record closing low on spot market

(Adds details, analyst comment)
By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, March 3 (Reuters) - The Nigerian naira dropped to a
record closing low of 411 per dollar on the spot market on
Wednesday, exchange data showed after the central bank last week
acknowledged that the currency was trading weaker.
The central bank had said on Friday that the naira was
hovering around 410 per dollar at the official window compared
to 360 naira last March, as the currency adjusts to dollar
shortages following a fall in foreign investment and oil prices.
The comments have rattled investors wondering whether the
central bank has devalued its official naira rate. On Wednesday
the naira was quoted at 381 naira on the official market, a
level where it has been stuck since last July.
"A lack of official confirmation of the devaluation hardly
inspires confidence," Virag Forizs, emerging markets economist
at Capital Economics, wrote in a note, revising a year-end
forecast to 425/$ from 400/$.
Forizs doubted the lastest devaluation will mark a
meaningful shift in Nigeria's exchange rate policy since dollar
restrictions aimed at defending the naira were still in place.
"We remain comfortable with our view that policymakers will
continue with their piecemeal approach to the currency, only
letting the naira weaken when pressure mounts."
Nigeria operates a multiple exchange rate regime which it
has used to manage pressure on the currency after an oil price
crash created dollar shortages. The IMF and the World Bank have
asked the central bank to unify exchange rates.
Telecoms giant MTN Nigeria said on Wednesday it was looking
to repatriate between $250 million and $300 million in backlog
dividends and had so far gotten some $20 million. The naira has been trading at around 410 naira since
February on the over-the-counter spot market. It dropped to a
record low of 410.50 three weeks ago. It was quoted at 480 per dollar on the black market, a
premium of 20.6% to the official rate.