CBN Has No Option But To Devalue Naira – S&P

The Central Bank of Nigeria will have to devalue the naira at some stage, possibly by more than 15 per cent, global ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, has said.The agency, however, said on Wednesday that it saw the adjustments as likely to be gradual.


Following the naira devaluations in November and February, the CBN has recently focused on curbing access to foreign exchange at the interbank market for importers of some goods, introducing stringent restrictions three weeks ago.

But the Director, Sovereign Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Ravi Bhatia, said the recent measures by the CBN including stopping the sale of forex to importers of 41 items at the official forex markets could only delay the inevitable.On Wednesday, the naira hit another record low of 242.5 against the dollar on the parallel market operated by dealers in bureau de change, down 0.42 per cent from Tuesday.