Here’s How the Oil Crash Is Hitting Emerging-Market Currencies

Here’s How the Oil Crash Is Hitting Emerging-Market Currencies

's How the Oil Crash Is Hitting Emerging-Market Currencies. Even Gulf states with long-standing pegs to the dollar, such as Saudi Arabia, are coming under pressure.. The pressure is one reason why analysts doubt the central bank will lower interest rates on March 20, despite economic growth being slow even before the virus took hold.. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says it would take an exchange rate of 600 naira per dollar for Nigeria to generate a healthy current-account surplus with today's oil prices.. The central bank meets on March 18, with most economists forecasting that it will lower interest rates.. South Africa's rand has fallen 16% this year, with foreign investors pulling more than $4 billion out its stock and local-currency bond markets.. The rand's risk reversals have soared to around 18-month highs in a signal of more pain to come, with investors concerned about South Africa potentially being downgraded to junk by Moody's Investors Service.. Analysts expect the central bank to cut rates on March 19, which could cause more bond outflows.. Stocks Jump With Wall Street Seeing 'Crazy Swings': Markets Wrap.