24th March, 2020 : As the coronavirus outbreak creates shockwaves across the globe, central banks and governments are enforcing emergency measures to defend their respective economies.

It was only last week that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) technically devalued the Naira at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) windows of the nation’s foreign exchange markets. While this move may attract foreign exchange investors due to the convergence of the multiple exchange rates, it may end up stoking inflationary pressures and complicating the implementation of the 2020 budget which predicted N305 per dollar. The CBN also announced a reduction of interest rates in all its intervention facilities from nine per cent to five per cent per annum for one year while pledging to inject over N1 trillion across critical sectors of the economy. With the CBN going all in out in shielding the Nigerian economy from the coronavirus outbreak, speculation is rising over the bank cutting benchmark interest rates from 13.5% in March.

Source : Lukman Otunuga, Senior Research Analyst at FXTM

Reporting for EasyKobo on Tuesday , 24 March 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria