Naira showing signs of stability due to CBN policies – IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given Nigeria’s currency, naira, a positive review in its latest assessment.
The global fund organisation said the naira has been showing signs of stability following certain steps taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The IMF disclosed this during a press briefing in Washington DC on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
The fund attributed the feat by Nigeria’s currency to recent interest rate hikes and the clearing of foreign exchange backlogs by the apex bank.
Speaking at the conference, the IMF’s financial counsellor and director of monetary and capital markets, Tobias Adrian, acknowledged the CBN efforts in controlling inflation and stabilising the foreign exchange market.
“The central bank has been transitioning to an inflation-targeting regime and has liberalised the exchange rate, which we welcome.
“The rate hikes implemented so far have been appropriate, especially given the challenges posed by high inflation, which still stands around 30 per cent,” he said.
IMF’s commendation gives hope amid the naira fall
Despite the recent gains in naira stability, the currency has plummeted badly in 2024.
A World Bank report on October 16 showed that naira remains one of the worst-performing currencies in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report identified continued increases in dollar demand and limited dollar inflow as the factors responsible for the currency depreciation in the last months.
However, the IMF said the naira has shown signs of improvement in recent months, fluctuating between N1,700 and N1,600 against the greenback in the parallel market and stabilising between N1,500 and N1,600 in official trading windows.
