Angola's kwanza weakens further against dollar

LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's kwanza extended its losses against the U.S. dollar, trading at 87.2 kwanzas per dollar at an auction on Friday compared to 86.9 kwanzas per dollar at a previous auction, according to the central bank.

Banco National de Angola, the central bank, holds dollar auctions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The results of the auction are announced a day after the auction takes place in a statement published in state-owned Jornal de Angola.

The kwanza lost 16.3 percent of its value this year on lower oil revenues and a government decision to loosen the currency's peg to the dollar last month after oil prices in 2010 recovered to around $78 per barrel from below $40 per barrel.

The Banco Nacional de Angola has been increasing the amount of dollars it sells to banks in a bid to bridge the gap between the official and parallel rate, which is trading at around 95 to the U.S. dollar in Luanda.

Angola rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer and depends on oil exports for almost 90 percent of its foreign exchange reserves.