Naira depreciates at I & E FX window by 0.10%

By Kayode Tokede

Naira at Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange Window (I & E FX)  on Wednesday depreciated by 0.10 per cent to close at N411.50.

The local currency at the I & E FX window also closed down by  0.42 per cent and 0.25per cent against the euro and pound sterling closing at N487.43 and N566.98  respectively.

According to FMDQ Exchange, foreign exchange turnover of $486.31million was traded on Wednesday.

The foreign exchange turnover at the I&E window dropped by 11.4per cent on Tuesday from $81.81 million recorded on Monday to $72.50 million on Tuesday.

At the parallel market, the Naira depreciated by 0.38per cent, 0.28per cent and 0.65per cent against the dollar, pound sterling and euro to close at N528, N717 and N616 respectively.

Money Market rates fell today as Open Buy Back and Overnight rates decreased by 150basis points each to close at 4.50 per cent and five per cent respectively.

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

The yield on the 5yr bond decrease by five basis points to close at 10.57per cent, while the 7yr and 10yr bonds closed flat at 11.39per cent and 11.64per cent respectively.

However, the foreign reserve rose by $271 million as it recorded its fourth increase in over 2 weeks to close at $33.933 billion on Monday, compared to $33.662 billion recorded as of the previous day. The latest increase represents a 0.81per cent boost in the country’s foreign reserve.

In the same vein, the reserve level has also gained $530 million month-to-date compared to $33.403 billion recorded as of the beginning of the month.

However, its year-to-date change shows a $1.62 billion loss compared to $35.37 billion recorded as of 31st December 2021.

While recent reports have suggested that 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.