UPDATE 3-Nigeria central bank devalues official FX rate by 15% after trade with local bank -traders

* Nigeria cenbank sold FX to local bank at 360 -traders
* Bank seeks to converge multiple FX rates -analyst
* Slump in oil prices has weakened Nigerian naira
* Bank has burnt through 16% of reserve in one-year

(Adds FX rate for exchange bureaux)
By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, March 20 (Reuters) - The Nigerian central bank
devalued the official currency rate by 15% on Friday, in a move
to converge a multiple exchange rate regime which it has used to
manage pressure on the naira, traders said.
The currency in Nigeria, which is Africa's biggest economy
and relies on crude sales for 90% of foreign exchange earnings,
has come under pressure after oil prices plunged following a
disagreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia over a deeper
production cut. The coronavirus outbreak has also hit global
demand for oil.
The central bank on Friday sold the U.S. dollar to local
Jaiz Bank at 360 naira on the official market, weaker than the
306 where it was previously pegged for more than two years,
traders said.
Traders said no quotes were shown on Friday for the naira on
the official market, which is supported by the central bank.
Previously, traders had refused to show quotes on the
over-the-counter spot market after the bank vowed to crack down
on speculators. The central bank did not respond to a request for comment on
the currency adjustment. Jaiz Bank also declined comment.
The adjustment comes after the impact of the oil price
plunge spread across asset classes in Nigeria, causing investors
to widen spreads on the bond market, sell stocks and weaken the
country's dollar reserves.
Last week JP Morgan said it expected Nigeria to devalue its
currency by around 10% to 400 naira for the over-the-counter
spot market widely quoted by foreign investors by the end of
June. RATE CONVERGENCE
Currency analysts at one Nigerian asset manager said
Friday's adjustment signalled that the central bank favoured a
convergence of its multiple exchange rates in order to realign
the currency as an effective tool for resource allocation.
Nigeria has operated a multiple exchange rate regime for
years, which it has used to manage pressure on the currency. On
the over-the-counter spot market few trades were done on Friday
at 380 naira on thin liquidity, against 370 in the previous
session, traders said.
The bank also adjusted the forex rate for exchange bureaux
to 380 naira per dollar from 360, in a sign it wanted to achieve
a uniform exchange rate for the currency, said Aminu Gwadade,
head of the exchange bureaux association. Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele, who supports a strong
currency, backed by President Muhammadu Buhari, has resisted
calls for a devaluation, saying that market fundamentals do not
support such move. But he has been burning through its reserve of $36 billion,
which is now down 16% from a year ago, to prop up the naira.
Since the virus outbreak, which started in China, spread to
Nigeria local importers have been front-loading dollar demand.
Ratings agency Fitch has said that Nigeria's B+ rating,
which has a negative outlook, could face problems if a prolonged
attempt to defend the country's currency peg ate heavily into
its international reserves. On Wednesday, Emefiele said he will inject $3.27 billion to
boost local production and stimulate the economy.
Nigeria has reported 12 cases of the coronavirus, with no
deaths so far.