FX turnover declines by 88.43% as Naira weakens on tight liquidity

Nigeria’s foreign exchange daily turnover declined significantly by 88.43 percent to $11.96 million on Wednesday from $103.37 million recorded on Tuesday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window.

The market trade volumes remained stable due to tightened liquidity with Naira depreciating slightly by 0.06 percent to close at N386.75 per dollar as against the last close of N386.50 per dollar.

A report by FSDH research stated that most participants maintained bids between N363.50 and N391.35 per dollar.

Earlier, the market opened with an indicative rate of N387.32k on Wednesday. This represents marginal depreciation of N0.14k when compared with N387.18k opened with on Tuesday, data from FMDQ revealed.

Naira weakened by N2.00k in some parts of Lagos State where black market operators operate. At the retail Bureau segment, Naira also depreciated by N2.00k as the dollar was sold at N462 compared with N460 traded since last week.

At the money market, the T-bills market closed on a positive note on Wednesday, with average yield across the curve declining by 7 bps to close at 2.07 percent.

In the OMO bills market, average yield across the curve increased by 12 bps to close at 5.36 percent.

The Overnight (O/N) rate declined by 0.50 percent to close at 21.00 percent. The Open Buy Back (OBB) rate increased by 0.25 percent to close at 20.00 percent.

The FGN bond market closed on a positive note Wednesday, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by 23 bps to close at 4.30 percent

“For the remainder of the week, we expect the bond market to trade at subdued levels in the absence of significant market inflows,” analysts at FSDH research said.

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By Iheanyi Nwachukwu • July 9, 2020

Hope Moses-Ashike

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.