I & E FX: Naira appreciates by 0.21% to close at N393.83

Naira at the Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange (I &E FX) window inched up by 0.21 per cent to close at N393.83 against the dollar on Monday.

Also, the local currency inched down by 1.13per cent and 1.03 per cent against the euro and pounds to print at N467.70 and N525.71 respectively.

FMDQ Exchange said on Monday that a total foreign exchange turnover of $69.00million was traded by investors and exporters.

According to the data tracked by from FMDQ, foreign exchange turnover dropped from $215.63/ million on Thursday to $40.31 million  on last Friday.

The average daily foreign exchange sale for last week was about $169.93 million, which represents a huge increase from the $34.5 million that was recorded the previous week.

The exchange rate is still being affected by low oil prices, dollar scarcity, a backlog of  forex demand and a shaky economy that has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the parallel market, the Naira closed flat against the pound, euro and dollar at N642, N580 and N475 respectively. Naira at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interbank market traded flat at N379 against the dollar.

Analysts at Investment One research said,  “Going forward, we  expect the foreign exchange market to be dictated by heightened dollar demand and CBN foreign exchange policies.”

“The money market rates were non-directional today as Open Buy Back remained flat at 0.50per cent, while the Overnight rate decreased by 17basis points to 0.83per cent.

‘The bond market traded on a somewhat negative note as yields increased on some maturities.

“We witnessed the yields on the 5yr and 10yr benchmark bonds increase by four basis points and 55 basis points to close at 5.58 per cent and 8.25 per cent respectively, while the yield on the 7yr benchmark bond decreased by 1bp to 7.74 per cent.

“In the near term, we expect market activity to be influenced by liquidity levels and foreign investor participation,” analysts at Investment One research added.