Analyses
16 November 2014, Lagos — ANALYSTS are forecasting an unstable end of the week for the local markets as fears of the worsening economic situation take root.
The ending of the week will nonetheless come as a sigh of relief to the Central Bank of Nigeria following a challenging past few days, leading thinktank, Rand Merchant Bank said on Friday.
“The CBN will welcome the weekend in what can only be described as a tumultuous week for the local financial markets.
“A cocktail of factors have unnerved market participants across the equity and bond markets, resulting in a steady stream of portfolio outflows, intensifying upward pressures on the Naira,” RMB stated in its week-ending Global Markets Report.
“In a desperate attempt to stem panic buying and stabilise the Naira, the CBN appealed to an array of commercial banks to bid for US$2 million each, providing temporary respite to the ailing currency.
“We expect a volatile end to the week as investors seek to shorten duration amid fears of deterioration in macroeconomic fundamentals on the back of a lower oil price,” RMB analysts added.
The country’s currency fell 2,7 percent against the Unites States Dollar on Thursday, despite central bank’s intervention coinciding with the price of oil, the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, tumbling to a four-year low.
*Okoro Chinedu, Caj News
