This is the latest policy intervention by the CBN to reduce the high demand for foreign exchange and shore up a weak naira following the drop in the country’s foreign-exchange earnings due to lower world oil prices.

Given the deterioration in Nigeria’s finances since the collapse of world oil prices, the President does not have many easy avenues to improve Nigeria’s fiscal condition.

The CBN said “We maintain our view that the lower oil price environment will encourage some reforms to the subsidy system. Opposition from unions and consumers could limit the extent of reform.

Efforts to cut back expenditure (particularly capital expenditure) and a reduction of oil savings will keep the federal government’s deficit high, with state-level finances to be more precarious and will affect service delivery.

The CBN’s approach ties into our view that a further depreciation of the naira later in 2015 should not be discounted.”

In continuation of its forex curbs, the CBN has also has restricted the use of Naira denomination cards overseas.

This is happening three months after it reviewed downwards the existing limit on the usage of naira denominated cards for crossborder payments.

Where e a company requires a card for overseas payments, such firms should be encouraged to obtain foreign currency denominated cards, which would be issued against its domiciliary account, prepaid or credit card, “whose limits must be in line with the existing BTA provisions.”

The CBN further directed that henceforth banks must submit reports of all naira-denominated card transactions consummated overseas to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) on a daily basis.

The central bank (CBN) said in a statement it believed the 22 percent depreciation in the naira after it scrapped the official foreign exchange window “is optimal at this time” and the bank would not be pressured into “desperate measures”.

- Reuters