The naira took a downward swing on Thursday after federal government’s disclosure that there was “no yuan swap” deal signed by Nigeria and China. The naira, which traded between 315 and 317 on Wednesday, sunk sharply to a position between 320 and 322 on Thursday after the disclosure at the federal executive council meeting on Wednesday.
Earlier, Nigeria was reported to have agreed a yuan-swap deal with China, although it has not been finalised.Godwin Emefiele, governor of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN), had spoken about the deal, adding that it would be concluded by the People’s Bank of China, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, as CBN’s representative.
He said the deal will take pressure off the dollar in Nigeria and help conserve Nigeria’s foreign reserves.However, Geoffrey Onyeama, minister for foreign affairs, said the deal was not a currency swap, but a deal for the flow of the yuan into Nigeria, adding that the dollar is still in use for international trade.