In spite of the low liquidity in the foreign exchange market, Nigeria’s currency on Monday strengthened by 0.27 percent to close at N408.90k compared to N410.00k closed on Friday.
This followed a moderation in the demand for dollars by the end users. Currency traders who participated in the trading on Monday maintained bids at between N390.00k and N412.00k/$.
The foreign exchange market daily turnover declined by 20.67 percent to $50.67 million on Monday from $63.88 million recorded on Friday.
Naira steadied at N485 and N480 per dollar at the black market and the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market, respectively.
At the money market, the Nigerian Treasury Bill secondary market closed on a flat note on Monday, with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 2.83 percent, according to a report by FSDH Research.
Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed at 0.61 percent, 3.05 percent, and 3.84 percent, respectively.
The Overnight (O/N) rate decreased by 1.42 percent to close at 12.75 percent on Monday as against the last close of 14.17 percent on Friday, and the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate decreased by 0.83 percent to close at 12.50 percent from 13.33 percent on the previous day.
In the Open Market Operation (OMO) bills market, the average yield across the curve decreased by 15 bps to close at 6.64 percent as against the last close of 6.79 percent.
Buying interest was seen across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities with average yields declining by 13 bps, 25 bps, and 3 bps, respectively. Yields on 19 bills declined with the 24-Aug-21 maturity bill registering the highest yield decrease of 90 bps, while yields on 9 bills remained unchanged.
The report noted that FGN bonds secondary market closed on a negative note on Monday, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared higher by 6 bps to close at 5.96 percent from 5.90 percent on the previous day. Average yields across short tenor and medium tenor of the curve increased by 2 bps and 30 bps, respectively. However, the average yield across the long tenor of the curve declined by 1 basis point.
The 26-APR-2049 bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 13 bps, while the 22-JAN-2026 bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 103 bps.
“Going into this week, activities in the secondary bond market are likely to increase as investors await the March bonds auction and MPC meeting results,” analysts at FSDH said.
