Central Bank of Nigeria rules out further devaluation of naira

Central Bank of Nigeria  LOGO

Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria ruled out further devaluation of the naira and warned against speculative trading in the currency, vowing that it would do everything within its power to protect it from further depreciation.

The Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, stated this while addressing journalists shortly after the two-day MPC meeting held at the central bank’s headquarters in Abuja ended.

Emefiele said while the CBN would continue to provide foreign exchange for Nigerians engaged in legitimate business, it would not allow the nation’s currency to come under speculative attacks.

He said currently, the naira was appropriately priced, adding that there was no need for anybody to worry that there would be another devaluation of the currency.

The governor, however, admitted that significant pressure persisted in the foreign exchange market during 2014, resulting in further weakening of the naira across the three segments of the markets.

For instance, he said the exchange rate at the Retail Dutch Auction System-Spot opened at N157.34 to the dollar (including one per cent commission) and closed at N164.08, representing a depreciation of N12.34 or 4.28 per cent.

The inter-bank selling rate, according to him, opened at N165.7 per dollar and closed at N180, representing a depreciation of N14.73 or 8.63 per cent in the period, while at the Bureau de Change segment, the selling rate opened at N170 per dollar and closed at N191.50, representing a depreciation of N21.50k or 12.64 per cent.