ABUJA, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank
announced new measures late on Friday that capped foreign
currency transactions carried out by bureau de change (BDC)
outlets, in a bid to narrow the gap between the official and
parallel market rates.
President Bola Tinubu, who has embarked on the boldest
reforms in Africa’s largest economy in decades, is seeking for
ways to stem the fall of its naira currency which has hit record
lows on the black market.
“The spread on buying and selling by BDC operators shall be
within an allowable limit of -2.5% to 2.5% of Nigerian foreign
exchange market window weighted average rate of the previous
day,” the central bank said in a statement.
The bank has also ordered BDCs to provide statutory daily,
weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports on their
transactions, failure of which “would attract sanctions which
may include withdrawal of operating license”, it said.
Acting central bank governor Folashodun Shonubi flagged new
measures for the currency market on Aug 14, as pressure mounted
on the naira.
Days later, the state oil firm NNPC Ltd. announced it
secured a $3 billion loan, helping the naira gain sharply on the
black market to 860 to the U.S. dollar, compared with a
record low of 960 earlier in the week.
The naira has swung widely on the official market
since June after the central bank lifted trading restrictions,
weakening the currency by more than 40%.
It closed at 739.5 on Friday.
(Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; editing by Clelia Oziel)
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