Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed Says Naira May Fall Further

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Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed Says Naira May Fall Further

Even if it showed signs of recovering from a record low on Thursday, Nigeria’s domestic currency, the Naira, is still expected to depreciate over time, according to the country’s finance minister.

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Bloomberg News reports that as of 5:30 p.m., the naira had increased 0.0367% to 435.84 on the spot market. After recovering from a record low of N436 to the US dollar on Wednesday, in Lagos on Thursday.

Nigeria’s currency is likely to weaken even further, Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed, said in an interview from Egypt’s new administrative capital. “It will happen with time,” she said, without giving any timeline.

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Nigeria’s Minister, Zainab Ahmed Says Naira May Fall Further

Ahmed also ruled out Nigeria taking on an International Monetary Fund program to address the country’s fiscal challenges, which include plummeting revenues and rising debt service costs.

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Africa’s largest economy maintains multiple exchange rates dominated by a tightly controlled official rate and the unauthorized parallel rate at which many Nigerian get dollars, which is roughly 60% weaker. The World Bank and IMF have urged Nigeria to unify its rates.

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed Says Naira May Fall Further
The weakening of the official rate “looks more like a gradual and partial convergence to higher effective exchange rate levels as the central bank already sells USD to corporates at up to 465 naira on the spot market and auctions for small firms,” said Samir Gadio, head of Africa Strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.
Gadio added that it was unlikely the outgoing government would adjust its official rate ahead of February’s presidential election.

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