The Nigeria’s naira on Monday firmed sharply on the parallel market following President Muhammadu Buhari’s defiant stance not to devalue the currency.
President Buhari had on Saturday again rejected the idea of devaluing the West African nation’s currency, despite a hammering of the naira on the secondary market last week.
The naira appreciated to 375 against the dollar, as importers started to reduce demand for dollars after Buhari’s statement.
The naira firmed 4 percent from Friday’s close of 390 to the dollar, while the official interbank rate remained at 199.50 to the dollar at the close of trading on Monday.
Aminu Gwadabe, the head of Nigeria’s bureaux de change association said retail currency operators were working to introduce a single quote across the parallel market and maintain a bid-ask spread of 3.5 percent for trades.
“We have set up a unit to monitor compliance with the new measures,” he told Reuters, adding that the central bank has been informed of the measures,” he said.
