Nigeria naira quoted at 367 as dollar scarcity hits black market

Nigeria’s naira was quoted at 367 on the black market on Wednesday, down 1.6 percent against the dollar as delays by the central bank in explaining how its new forex policy would work increased speculation on the currency.

The naira traded at 199.40, within central bank’s pegged rate band on the official interbank market.

Last month, the central bank said it would abandon its naira peg to the dollar and introduce a flexible currency regime. It has not said how this would work, though, which has unsettled investors worried about getting caught in the middle of a devaluation.

Demand for the greenback has increased amidst growing scarcity as uncertainties created by the new policy, has caused individuals to start to stock dollars, Aminu Gwadabe, head of Nigeria’s bureaux de change association, said.