* Naira falls to intraday low of 184.42 to the dollar

* Focus on impact of low oil prices on Africa’s top producer

* Cenbank intervention fails to lift local unit (Adds dealer, analyst comment, details)

LAGOS, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank failed to keep the naira within its new target band again on Monday and the currency posted a record low closing level as investors continued to fret about the impact of plunging oil prices on Africa’s biggest economy.

The central bank devalued the currency by 8 percent against the dollar last Tuesday in a bid to halt a decline in the foreign reserves of Africa’s leading energy producer, but has struggled to keep the currency in its target range since then.

“Clients are scared because they don’t know how this will end,” said one currency dealer. “People will have to pay more for everything — ticket prices are quoted in dollars, food is quoted in dollars, because we import everything. Very soon people will start passing it on to the end user as inflation.”

Oil sales provide around 95 percent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and the naira is being driven down by concerns that the falling oil price will pressure Nigeria’s shaky finances even further, especially since OPEC’s decision last week not to cut output to support prices.

The central bank sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to commercial banks on Monday, but dealers said it was not sufficient to lift the naira, which closed 2.9 percent weaker than its previous close on Friday and 4.4 percent below the lower end of the bank’s new target band.

The naira touched an intraday low of 184.42 to the dollar before the bank’s intervention. Afterwards, it recovered very slightly to end at 184.10 naira to the dollar, a record low closing level. In the Bureau de Change, the Naira exchanged N190 to a dollar, its worst level in decades according to reports in THE NEWS.

The target band since the devaluation is 5 percent plus or minus 168 to the dollar, but doubts remain about whether the devaluation went far enough given the likelihood of continuing low oil prices and the bank’s ability to maintain the band will be tested in coming weeks.

Forex reserves fell 17.3 percent year-on-year to $36.9 billion by Nov. 26, central bank data showed on Friday.

Nigeria’s share index fell 1.8 percent on Monday, dragged lower by oil stocks Oando and Seplat .

Pressure on the currency from lower oil prices risks reigniting inflation, which for the past two years has stabilised in single digits for the first time in more than five years. Nigeria imports around 80 percent of what it consumes.

The country’s woes are excacerbated by the fact that Nigeria’s oil savings actually fell when oil prices were at record highs, partly owing to theft of its oil by criminal gangs, hurting output, and partly because too much money was distributed to different arms of government for spending.

The Excess Crude Account (ECA) has fallen from $11.5 billion in December 2012 to around $4 billion now, according to official figures.

However, some analysts said the market reaction was a little excessive.

“There’s an element of overshooting … which is quite normal,” said Standard Chartered’s Razia Khan. “We are still seeing belated reaction to the OPEC decision.”

Nigeria’s economic troubles come at a bad time for President Goodluck Jonathan, who will seek re-election in February 2015, in polls which also are set to drain huge amounts of money to nourish patronage networks.

Beyond that, the government may have no choice but to make painful cuts to spending, including reducing or scrapping a costly fuel subsidy, the biggest single item on the budget.

“Given the downside risk to revenue and the near-depletion of the excess crude account, the government may have little option but to remove the fuel subsidy,” Renaissance Capital said in a research note on Monday.

Brent crude oil has fallen by more than a third since June, touching a five-year low below $68 at one point on Monday.

Barclays on Monday lowered its expected average Brent crude price for 2015 to $72 a barrel, from $93 previously, in a sign analysts have become more bearish after the OPEC meeting.

“Today, we are adapting to the fact that this (low oil price) may be the new normal,” Rencap said. (Additional reporting by Oludare Mayowa in Lagos; Editing by Susan Fenton)

By Chijioke Ohuocha and Tim Cocks for Reuters.