Nigeria is planning to introduce new foreign exchange rules — including a crackdown on illegal currency trading — that it hopes will result in the naira closing its more-than-45% gap with the unofficial rate and reaching a “fair price” by year-end, a top official said.

The government plans to clear a backlog of dollar demand estimated at about $6.7 billion, bolster the naira forward market, and set transparent rules for the operations of the official market, Taiwo Oyedele, chair of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, said in an interview.

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