By Kayode Tokede
Naira on Tuesday depreciated at the Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange (I&E) window by 0.3per cent to N410.50 against the Dollar but was flat at N485.00 against the Dollar in the parallel market.
The local currency gained marginally on the parallel market to close at N485/$1 on Thursday, 1st April 2021 and has remained stable since, as it closed at N485 to a dollar on Monday.
According to the FMDQ, a foreign exchange turnover of $40.80million was traded by investors and exporters on Tuesday.
FMDQ had report that foreign exchange turnover at the I&E window increased marginally by 0.5per cent on Thursday, 1st April 2021.
FMDQ stated that foreign exchange turnover increased from $35.37 million/ recorded on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, to/ $35.55 million on Thursday.
The overnight lending rate contracted by 1875 basis points to 13.75per cent, as inflow from OMO Maturities (N24.00 billion) boosted system liquidity.
Trading in the NTB secondary market started the week with a bullish performance, as the average yield contracted by 16basis points to four per cent.
The average yield was flat across the curve at the short and long ends but contracted at the mid (-49 basis points) segment as the market participants bought up the 163-DTM (-107 basis points) bill. Similarly, the average yield contracted at the OMO segment by five basis points to 6.3per cent.
Activities at the Treasury bond secondary market ended on a bearish note, as the average yield expanded by six basis points to 9.8per cent.
Across the benchmark curve, average yield expanded at the short (+1 basis points), mid (+20 basis points) and long (+2 basis points) segments following sell-offs of the MAR-2025 (+11 basis points), FEB-2028 (+34 basis points) and MAR 2036 (+8 basis points) bonds, respectively.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the nation’s external reserve gained $27.87 million on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 to close at $34.82 billion.
This indicates a 0.08per cent increase when compared to $34.79 billion recorded on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2021.
This also represents the ninth consecutive increase in the country’s external reserve position having endured a significant downturn in the early parts of the year.
The current positive trend started as of 19th March 2021 when it hit $39.58 million in a single day. This recent growth could however be attributed to the increase in crude oil prices recorded earlier in March and the possible increase in diaspora remittance as the CBN offers incentives for every unit of dollar received from diaspora remittance.