Nigeria’s currency steadied at N477 to the dollar on Monday at the black market as demand pressure remained modest.

The foreign exchange market has been under pressure since March 2020 following a sharp drop in oil prices as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.

Naira remained stable at the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market as the dollar was sold at N475 since Thursday last week.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, Naira remained stable at N394.00 per dollar. Analysts at FSDH research said most participants maintained bids between N387.10 and N407.25 per dollar.

Nigeria’s external reserves declined by $100.30 million week on week to $34.83 billion, as outflows due to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) interventions across the various the FX windows negatively impacted the FX reserves.

In the money market, the Nigeria treasury bills (NT-Bills) secondary market closed on a negative note on Monday with average yield across the curve increasing by 1 basis point to close at 0.41 percent from 0.40 percent on the previous day.

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The average yield across short-term maturities widened by 3 bps, while average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities remained unchanged at 0.37 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively.

Overnight (O/N) rate declined by 2.50 percent to close at 2.00 percent as against the last close of 4.50 percent, and the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate also declined by 3.50 percent to close at 1.00 percent from 4.50 percent on the previous day.

“We expect money market rates to remain at current levels in the absence of any significant outflows ” analysts at FSDH research said.

In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve remained unchanged at 0.47 percent.

The analysts said mild selling pressure was seen across short-term maturities with the average yield rising by 1 basis point. However, average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities closed flat at 0.52 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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