Nigeria's central bank announced new measures late on Friday that capped foreign currency transactions carried out by bureau de change (BDC) outlets, in a bid to narrow the gap between the official and parallel market rates.

President Bola Tinubu, who has embarked on the boldest reforms in Africa's largest economy in decades, is seeking for ways to stem the fall of its naira currency which has hit record lows on the black market.

"The spread on buying and selling by BDC operators shall be within an allowable limit of -2.5% to 2.5% of Nigerian foreign exchange market window weighted average rate of the previous day," the central bank said in a statement.

The bank has also ordered BDCs to provide statutory daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports on their transactions, failure of which "would attract sanctions which may include withdrawal of operating license", it said.

Acting central bank governor Folashodun Shonubi flagged new measures for the currency market on Aug 14, as pressure mounted on the naira.

Days later, the state oil firm NNPC Ltd. announced it secured a $3 billion loan, helping the naira gain sharply on the black market to 860 to the U.S. dollar, compared with a record low of 960 earlier in the week.

The naira has swung widely on the official market since June after the central bank lifted trading restrictions, weakening the currency by more than 40%.

It closed at 739.5 on Friday.

(Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; editing by Clelia Oziel)