I & E FX window: Naira trades flat at N409.67/$

Naira at the Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange ( I & E FX) market on Wednesday traded flat at N409.67 against the dollar.

The naira inched up by 0.57per cent and 0.41 per cent against the euro and pound sterling at N457.03 and N525.73 respectively.

According to FMDQ, a turnover of $40.79 million was traded by investors and exporters.

At the parallel market, the naira lost by 0.46per cent, 0.70per cent and 1.06 per cent against the pound sterling, euro and dollar to print at N655, N574 and N478 respectively.

Our correspondent gathered that naira at the interbank market of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) traded flat at N379 against the dollar on Wednesday.

According to analysts at Investment One research, “Going forward, we expect the FX market to be dictated by heightened dollar demand and CBN FX policies.”

Money market rates fell today as Open Buy Back and Overnight rates both closed down by 50 basis points to close at 2.00 per cent and 2.25 per cent respectively.

The bond market was slightly negative, particularly at the midpoint and long end of the curve on Wednesday.

“We witnessed the yield on the 10yr benchmark bond inch up by 22basis points closing at 10.59per cent, while the 5yr benchmark bond inched down by 10basis points at 9.60per 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.”