Naira Rate Nears Black Market as Central Bank Loosens Up

Nigeria’s foreign-exchange market is starting to see the unification that bond and stock investors have been calling for. The naira weakened 13 percent against the dollar last week on the main interbank market after monetary officials told lenders to start quoting trades made in the so-called Nafex currency window that was opened for investors in April. The drop in the naira has almost wiped out the spread with the black-market rate.