Nigeria is Africa’s largest exporter of crude oil. The oil price falls have exposed vulnerabilities in the country (its government, for example, earns around 80% of its revenue from oil).
Nigeria’s currency, the naira, is under pressure and the central bank has imposed trading restrictions:
- has banned dealers from depositing their currency-trading funds overnight, preventing them from after-hours trading and placing bets for or against a single currency at the close of a trading session
- The move is temporary, according to Olakanmi Gbadamosi, director of the central bank’s trade and exchange department.
More at the Wall Street Journal (may be gated): Nigeria’s Central Bank Restricts Currency Trading to Prop Up Naira