Nigeria’s naira firmed in early Thursday trade against the dollar, which languished near its lowest in nearly three years, after Congress certified the victory of the president-elect, Joe Biden, clearing the way for a larger fiscal stimulus and boosting risk sentiment.
Georgia Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have also been declared winners in the Senate runoff against Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, giving Democrats control over the senate.
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At 1.52 pm, the naira was 0.82 percent stronger at N393.69 against the dollar from an overnight close of N394.50, according to FMDQ Data.
Biden had said Monday that Americans would receive $2,000 in coronavirus relief payments “immediately” if Georgia voted for both Democrats in the US Senate runoffs.
Analysts generally assume a Democrat-controlled Senate will be a net positive for economic growth globally and thus for most risk assets, but negative for bonds and the dollar as the U.S. budget and trade deficits may widen further.
