Fitch expects Nigerian naira devaluation, warns on budget

Ratings agency Fitch expects a devaluation of Nigeria's naira currency in the first half of 2016, and warned that the country's expansionary budget was potentially negative for its credit rating.
"We see the central bank trying to do three things at once – (have an) active interest rate policy, trying to stop the flow of hard currency (out of the country) and defend the naira,” said Jermaine Leonard, a sovereign analyst at Fitch.
"The most likely place to let give is probably the currency," he said, adding he expected to see this happen in the first half of 2016.
In September, Fitch kept Nigeria at 'BB-' with a negative outlook. Earlier this week it warned that low oil prices would continue to weigh on the sovereign credit profiles of major exporters in 2016.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday it had decided on a 6 trillion naira ($30.3 billion) budget for 2016, a 1.5 trillion naira rise on last year despite low oil prices that have hit Africa's biggest economy hard.