By Kayode Tokede
Naira at Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange (I & E) FX window appreciated by 0.09 per cent to close at N411.13 against the dollar on Monday.
Naira also gained 0.25 per cent respectively against the euro and pound to close at N488.08 and N568.92 respectively.
Naira gained against the dollar on Friday, to close at N411.5/$1 compared to N411.67/$1 recorded at the close of trade on Thursday, representing a 0.04per cent appreciation. In terms of performance for the week, Naira gained N0.5 against the dollar in the week’s trade.
Meanwhile, according to FMDQ Exchange, foreign exchange turnover on Monday was $97.54 million.
The foreign exchange turnover at the I&E FX window decreased from a record high by 57per cent on Friday from $296.34 million recorded on Thursday to $127.51 million.
At the parallel market, the Naira depreciated by 0.38per cent, 0.14 per cent and 0.48 per cent against the USD, pound sterling and euro to close at N532, N723 and N625 respectively.
Money Market rates fell today as Open Buy Back and Overnight rates decreased by 500bps each to close at eight per cent and 8.50 per cent respectively.
The bond market traded on a somewhat positive note today, as yields decreased on some maturities.
The yield on the 5yr bond close up by 14bps to 10.54 per cent, while the yields on the 7yr and 10yr bonds decreased by 4bps each to close at 11.21 per cent and 11.51 per cent respectively.
In the near term, we expect market activity to be influenced by liquidity levels and foreign investor participation.
Foreign reserve rose by $79.9 million as it recorded its seventh increase in over 2-week to close at $34.18 billion on Thursday, compared to $34.1 billion recorded as of the previous day. The latest increase represents a 0.23 per cent boost in the country’s foreign reserve.
The reserve has gained $162.24 million in the month of September and has lost a total of $1.19 billion year-to-date 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 rally could indicate we are towards hitting the projected numbers.