Naira falls across foreign exchange markets

Naira on Wednesday depreciated against the dollar across official and parallel foreign exchange (FX) markets.

After trading on Wednesday Naira depreciated by 0.15 percent as the dollar was quoted at N461.67 as against the last close of N461.00 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, data from the FMDQ indicated.

The naira’s weakness followed a low level of activity at the market as the daily foreign exchange market turnover declined by 54.82 percent to $69.33 million on Wednesday from $153.45 million recorded on Tuesday.

Most currency dealers who participated in the FX auction on Wednesday maintained bids between N440.00 and N462.00 per dollar.

Nigeria’s FX market resumed for the New Year on Tuesday, with Naira gaining against the dollar at official and parallel markets.

Read also: Naira begins year with marginal gains against dollar

The Nigerian treasury bills secondary market closed on a positive note on Wednesday with the average yield across the curve decreasing by 137 bps to 3.92 percent from 5.29 percent on the previous day, according to a report by FSDH research. Average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities declined by 147 bps and 265 bps, respectively.

The Overnight (O/N) rate remained unchanged at 9.83 percent, while the Open Repo (OPR) rate, which is referred to as a repurchase transaction that is agreed without fixing the maturity date, remained unchanged at 9.50 percent.

However, the report stated that the average yield across the short-term maturities closed flat at 3.32 percent. Yields on six bills declined, with NTB 26-Oct-23 (-436 bps) maturity bills witnessing maximum buying interest.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds secondary market closed on a mildly positive note today, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by 8 bps to close at 13.07 percent from 13.15 percent on the previous day. Average yields across short tenor and long tenor of the curve declined by 44 bps and 2 bps, respectively. However, the average yield across the medium tenor of the curve remained unchanged.