By Dipo Olowookere
The Naira reacted positively to the news that the government of President Bola Tinubu would work to unify the exchange rates to attract foreign investors into the country.
At his inaugural address on Monday, Mr Tinubu said his administration would merge all the different exchange rates into one for better management.
This has been the wish of several economists and global institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
“Monetary policy needs a thorough housecleaning. The Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate.
“This will direct funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plant, equipment and jobs that power the real economy,” the new President declared yesterday.
This news strengthened the value of the local currency against the United States Dollar yesterday in the black market and the peer-to-peer (P2P) segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market.
Business Post reports that in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency gained 1.69 per cent or N13 to trade at N757/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N770/$1.
Similarly, in the P2P window, the Naira was fortified by 1.29 per cent or N10 against the greenback to close at N765/$1 versus the preceding session’s N775/$1.
Some forex traders have said the new policy, if implemented, would boost the economy, though they warned that if not properly managed, it could spell doom for the domestic currency.
“We will welcome the new policy, if implemented, it will eliminate the round-tripping from the system and make the Naira trade at its true value. This is what we want; we are not against it,” an FX trader in Lagos, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper.
