Naira depreciates by 2.47% against US dollar in forex market

The Nigerian naira experienced increased pressure in the foreign exchange market as it weakened against the US dollar due to low dollar supply at the official market.

According to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the naira depreciated by 2.47 percent, with the dollar quoted at N925.34 on Monday compared to N902.45 on Friday.

During intraday trading, the dollar reached as high as N1,311, while the lower bid rate was N745/$.

The daily FX market turnover dropped by 49.74 percent to $73.33 million on Monday from $145.89 million on Friday. In the money market, the Overnight (O/N) rate decreased by 2.25 percent to close at 21.00 percent, and the Open Repo (OPR) rate decreased by 2.15 percent to close at 19.95 percent.

The Nigerian treasury bills secondary market closed on a flat note on Monday with the average yield across the curve closing flat at 3.28 percent, according to a report by FSDH research.

Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed flat at 1.65 percent, 2.83 percent, and 4.53 percent, respectively.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has released its Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds offer circular for January 2024 Primary Market Auction, indicating plans to offer FGN bonds worth N360 billion through the re-opening of 10-year FGN for March 2027 (N90 billion), 10-year FGN April 2029 (N90 billion), 10-year FGN June 2033 (N90 billion), and 15-year FGN June 2038 (N90 billion) tenors.

The bond auction is scheduled to be held on January 29, with settlement on January 31, 2024.