Friday,
March 20, 2020 /07:01 PM / by Chijioke Ohuocha of Reuters,
Edited by Edmund Blair and Giles Elgood / Header Image Credit: WEF
The Nigerian central bank has sold the U.S. dollar
to local Jaiz Bank at 360 naira on the official currency market, weaker than
the 306 where it was previously pegged, implying a 15% devaluation, traders
said on Friday.
Traders said no quotes were shown on Friday for the
naira on the official market, which has been supported by the central bank for
more than two years.
The move comes after the impact of an oil price
plunge spread across asset classes in Nigeria, causing investors to widen
spreads on the bond market, sell stocks and weaken the country's dollar
reserves.
Last week JP Morgan said it expected Nigeria to
devalue its currency by around 10% to 400 naira per dollar by the end of June
after a sharp oil price tumble ramped up the pressure on Africa's biggest
economy.
On the over-the-counter spot market for investors
few trades were done on Friday on the naira at 380 on thin liquidity, traders
said. Nigeria operates a multiple exchange rate regime which it has used to
manage pressure on the currency.
The central bank was not available for comment.
Credit:
The post Nigerian Central Bank Sells
U.S. Dollar at Weaker Rate Than Previous Peg first appeared in Reuters on March
20, 2020
Related News
Signup with Facebook
Signup with Twitter
