Naira falls to all-time low despite 181.62% liquidity increase

Naira on Wednesday fell to all-time low of N456.33 per dollar despite increased liquidity at the official market.

Foreign exchange (FX) activity levels, which is reflected in the daily turnover rose significantly by 181.62 percent but failed to shore up the value of Naira.

The FX daily turnover increased to $377.48 million on Wednesday compared to $134.04 million recorded on Tuesday, data from the FMDQ indicated.

Naira lost 0.81 percent as the dollar was quoted at N456.33 on Wednesday as against N452.67/$ quoted on the previous day at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window.

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Most participants who participated in the FX auction on Wednesday maintained bids between N440.00 (low) and N456.33 (high) per dollar.

At the parallel market, popularly called black market, naira relatively remained stable as the dollar was quoted at the rate N745/$1 since last week.

At the money market on Wednesday, the Nigerian treasury bills (NT-Bills) secondary market closed on a positive note with the average yield across the curve decreasing by 248 bps to 5.68 percent from 8.16 percent on the previous day, according to a report by FSDH research.

The report noted that average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities declined by 133 bps, 263 bps, and 348 bps, respectively. NTB 9-Nov-23 (-405 bps) maturity bill witnessed maximum buying interest.

The Overnight (O/N) rate increased by 0.38 percent to close at 10.63 percent on Wednesday as against the last close of 10.25 percent, while the Open Repo (OPR) rate increased by 2.75 percent to close at 10.25 percent compared to 7.50 percent on the previous day.

At the fixed income market, the FGN bonds secondary market closed on a mildly positive note on Wednesday, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by 5 bps to close at 13.56 percent from 13.61 percent on the previous day.

Average yields across medium tenor and long tenor of the curve decreased by 9 bps and 6 bps, respectively. However, the average yield across the short tenor of the curve remained unchanged. The 22-JAN-2026 maturity bond was the best performer, with a decrease in the yield of 35 bps.