Parallel market: Naira trades flat at N498/%
By Kayode Tokede
Naira at the parallel market traded flat at N498 and N700 against the Dollar and Pound Sterling on Wednesday respectively. The local currency thus lost 0.17 per cent against the Euro to close at N598.
Trading at the parallel market on Tuesday revealed that Naira lost by 0.61per cent and 0.17 per cent against the Dollar the Dollar and Euro closing at N498 and N597 respectively, it remained flat against the Pound Sterling printing at N700.
At the Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange (I & EFX) window, while the Naira gained by 0.23per cent and 0.27per cent against the Dollar and Euro closing at N411.06 and N501.14 respectively, it inched down against the Pound Sterling by 0.21per cent printing at N581.60.
According to FMDQ Exchange, a total turnover of $164.00 million was traded by Investors and Exporters on Wednesday.
FMDQ Exchange had reported $98.91million total foreign exchange at Investors & Exporters window on Tuesday from $125.44million total trade reported by the FMDQ on Monday.
Meanwhile, the money market rates inched up on Wednesday as the Open Buy Back and Overnight rose by 233basis points and 216basis points to close at 14.33per cent and 14.83 per cent respectively.
The bond market traded on a quiet note today with yields only declining slightly across few maturities. The yield on the 5-year benchmark bond close flat at 12.55per cent, while the yields on the 7-year and 10-year benchmark bonds fell by 11basis points and 27bps to close at 12.87per cent and 12.94per cent respectively.
According to CBN, the country’s external reserve dropped by $13.26 million on Monday, 31st May 2021 to stand at $34.23 billion, representing a 0.04per cent decline when compared to $34.24 billion recorded as of Friday, 28th May 2021.
Nigeria’s foreign reserve has lost about $1.14 billion year-to-date, having recorded consecutive declines since 19th April 2021.
The country’s foreign reserve has continued to witness rapid decline despite the bullish trend recorded in the global oil market.
This suggests that export earnings from crude oil sales are not increasing in tandem with the growth in crude oil prices. This is attributable to the decline in the demand from India, one of the highest importers of Nigerian crude.
