I & E FX window: Naira depreciates by 4.19% to N566.55/£

By Joshua Elekwachi, Abuja

Naira against the pound sterling depreciated by 4.19 per cent to close at N566.55 at the Investors & Exporters Foreign II & E FX) market on Tuesday.

The local currency also closed down by 3.98per cent against the euro at N493.10 but closed flat against the dollar at N409.67.

According to the FMDQ, a turnover of $30.44 million was traded by investors & exporters on Tuesday.

At the parallel market, the Naira closed flat against the pound sterling, euro and dollar to print at N652, N570 and N473 respectively.

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

“However, the money market rates fell today as Open Buy Back and Overnight rates both closed down by 150 basis points to close at 2.50 per cent and 2.75 per cent respectively.

“The bond market was slightly negative, more on the short end of the curve today.

“We witnessed the yield on the 10yr benchmark bond inch down by nine basis points closing at 10.37 per cent, while the 5yr benchmark bond closed up by131bps at 9.70 per cent . The yield on the 7yr bond closed flat at 9.89per cent.

“In the near term, we expect market activity to be influenced by liquidity levels and foreign investor participation,” they added.