Naira appreciates by 0.03% to N408.87/$ at I & E FX window

Naira at the Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange window (I & EFX) appreciated by 0.03 per cent to close at N408.87 against the dollar on Thursday.

It also appreciated by 0.19per cent against the euro and it inched up by 0.20per cent against the pound sterling at N575.26.

The FMDQ stated that turnover traded at the I & E FX window on Thursday was $43.97 million

The FMDQ said a turnover of $212.43 million was traded by investors and exporters on Wednesday.

FMDQ had said foreign exchange turnover increased from $52.58 million recorded on Monday, February 22, 2021, to $423.37 million on Tuesday, February 23, 2021.

At the parallel market, the Naira closed flat at N480, N670 and N580 against the dollar, pound sterling and euro respectively.

However, naira at the interbank market of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) traded flat at N379 against the dollar.

Money market rates rose today as Open Buy Back and Overnight rates increased by 516basis points and 644basis points to close at 7.60 per cent and 8.30per cent respectively.

The bond market was quiet today as yields remained flat across most maturities. The yields on the 7yr and 10yr benchmark bonds close flat at 10.33 per cent and 10.77per cent respectively, while the yield on the 5yr benchmark bond closed down by 144 basis points to 8.16 per cent.

The CBN disclosed that its foreign reserve dipped to $35.23billion on Tuesday from $35.28 billion on Monday.

The country’s foreign reserve position has now hit its lowest level in almost two months, losing over $1.1 billion in less than a month.

This downturn has continued to persist despite bullish trends in the global crude oil market. However, Nigeria will need to boost its external reserve to hit $40 billion, as this will help meet some of the pent-up demand that has piled up as a result of the crash in global oil prices in 2020.