Nigeria’s currency weakened to N460 against the dollar after foreign exchange trading on Wednesday at the black market.

This represents N5.00k lost in the value of Naira when compared with N455 per dollar traded since five days ago.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all foreign exchange users to access FX from the banks.

At the retail Bureau also, Naira depreciated by N5.00k as the dollar was sold at N462 on Wednesday from N457 sold on the previous day.

The Apex bank on March 26, suspended foreign exchange sales to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators until further notice due to the Covid-19 lockdown as requested by the operators. The suspension notwithstanding, some BDCs are still active in the market.

Aminu Gwadabe, president, Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said the BDCs would return as soon as the lockdown in the international airport is relaxed.

He the return of the BDCs will be the iceberg for complete returns to sanity and devoid of hoarding and speculation.

“I therefore want our members and the General public not to engage on panic buying as anytime soon fingers might be burnt from such behaviours,” he said.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, the local currency weakened marginally by N0.09k as the market closed at N386.42k/$ on Wednesday as against N386.33k closed with on Tuesday.

The market opened on Wednesday morning with an indicative rate of N388.13k at the I&E window, data from FMDQ indicated.

At the money market, NT-bills market closed on a positive note on Wednesday, with average yield across the curve declining by 8 bps to close at 2.37 percent, according to a report by FSDH research.

In the OMO bills market, average yield across the curve declined by 136 bps to 6.65 percent. The Overnight (O/N) rate declined by 0.13 percent to close at 2.17 percent. The Open Buy Back (OBB) rate also declined by 0.23 percent to close at 1.67 percent.

The FGN bond market closed on a positive note on Wednesday, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by 8 bps to close at 6.36 percent.

the DMO conducted its scheduled FGN bond auction for the reopening of the 5-year, 15-year, and 30-year bonds. FGN bonds worth N60 billion were offered across the 5-year (N20 billion), 15-year (N20 billion), and 30-year (N20 billion) tenors. The bond settlement will take place on May 22, 2020.

 

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Naira gaining as FX market opens at N387.25k

By Hope Moses-Ashike • May 21, 2020

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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