Naira to Remain Steady Amid Slow Holiday Trading

• Naira to Remain Steady Amid Slow Holiday Trading

The naira is expected to be stable in the week ahead, supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regular interventions through the injection of dollars into the market, according to foreign exchange traders.

The currency has been hovering at 360/dollar for investors, while it has traded around 364/dollar at the parallel market.

On the official market, it has been quoted at 306.05, a level at which the central bank has been intervening.

The CBN has been injecting dollars into the forex market on weekly basis in the past few months.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s cedi is seen fairly steady against the dollar for the rest of 2017 on subdued business activity until after the New Year holidays, according to traders.

The local unit was trading at 4.5370 to the greenback at 1026 GMT on Thursday, almost the same level as its 4.5300 post-Christmas close on Wednesday, compared with 4.5100 a week ago, Reuters data showed.

According to Reuters, most of Africa’s main currencies are seen trading at a steady level over the next week as markets remained sluggish over the holidays.

Zambian kwacha, is however, expected to weaken, according to traders.

The Kenyan shilling is expected to maintain the same level in the coming week with markets being closed on Jan. 1 for the New Year’s holiday.

The Ugandan shilling is seen trading with a bearish tone over the coming days as traders pick up dollars to cover short positions amid tight inflows.