Naira appreciates by 0.09% against Dollar at I &  E FX window

By Kayode Tokede

Naira at Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange (I& E FX) window depreciated by 0.09 per cent to close at N411.63.against the dollar.

The local currency at the I& EFX window closed down by 0.10per cent and 0.05per cent against the euro and pound closing at N485.12 and N565.70 respectively.

At the parallel market, the Naira depreciated by 0.57 per cent, 0.28 per cent and 0.66 per cent against the dollar, pound sterling and euro respectively to close at N527, N715 and N612 respectively.

Money Market rates fell today as Open Buy Back and Overnight rates decreased by 183basis points and 133basis points respectively to close at 6.50 per cent and 7.17per cent respectively.

The bond market traded on a somewhat positive note on Monday, as yields decreased on some maturities while others closed flat.

The yields on the 5-year, 7-year and 10-year bonds close flat at 10.61 per cent, 11.40 per cent and 11.64 per cent respectively.

Foreign reserve rose by $89 million as it recorded its second increase in over two-week to close at $33.571 billion on Thursday compared to $33.482 billion recorded as of the previous day. The latest increase represents a 0.27per cent boost in the country’s foreign reserve.

In the same vein, the reserve level has also gained $171 million month-to-date compared to $33.4 billion recorded as of the beginning of the month.

However, its year-to-date change shows a $1.8 billion loss compared to $35.37 billion recorded as of 31st December 2021.

While recent reports have suggested that Nigeria’s foreign reserve position could grow as high as $40 billion by the end of September 2021, the recent decline in the external reserve could be attributed to the decline recorded in the global crude oil market in recent weeks.