Nigeria Brings On Capital Controls
The WSJ reports that "The bank is barring dealers from depositing their currency-trading funds overnight, preventing them from after-hours trading and placing bets for or against a single currency at the close of a trading session."
The currency has been crushed lately as oil prices continue to fall. It doesn't help that the Nigerian national elections are approaching in February. The campaigns are likely to both be expensive and contribute to social unrest within the country.
To muddle the picture just a little more, Nigerian oil workers were on strike for four days this week. According to Businessweek, "the two unions also wanted the authorities to expedite the passage of the petroleum industry bill, curtail crude theft and pipeline sabotage, and address what they say are unfair labor practices by some energy producers."
After negotiations, union leaders called off the strike this morning.
Here's the bigger picture of the naira crisis:
