Nigeria plans to hold up to 10 per cent of its foreign exchange reserves in yuan in a move that may herald a similar shift away from the dollar and euro by resource-producing nations.
The country’s efforts to build-up reserves in the Chinese currency are likely to involve accepting payments for crude oil shipments to China in yuan — a step along a path that some believe could eventually see global oil and metal prices quoted in the currency as well as in dollars.
Lamido Sanusi, Nigeria central bank governor, said that the country would start holding yuan from the next quarter and forecast that the currency would appreciate given the strength of China’s economy.
Nigeria’s reserves are currently 79 per cent held in dollars,