Naira Gains 0.09% at I&E on Rising Demand for Fixed Income Assets

Cowry Asset

The local currency further gained 0.09 percent against the Dollar last week at the Investors & Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange to close at N360.18 as foreign portfolio inflows rose amid increasing demand for fixed income assets.

Also, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate at the parallel market appreciated by 0.28 percent to finish at N359/$.

However, at the interbank segment of the market, the exchange rate remained unchanged at N356.92/$ amid weekly injections of $210 million by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) into the forex market via the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) of which: $100 million was allocated to Wholesale SMIS, $55 million was allocated to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and $55 million was sold for invisibles, as did at the Bureau De Change (BDC) market segments, to close at N357/$.

Meanwhile, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate fell further for most of the foreign exchange forward contracts – 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months rates moderated by 0.17 percent, 0.20 percent, 0.17 percent, 0.05 percent and 0.59 percent respectively to close at N362.35/$, N365.28/$, N369.02/$, N381.31/$ and N401.67/$ respectively.

However, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate rose at the spot market by 0.02 percent to close at N306.95/$ respectively.

In the new week, we expect stability in the Naira/USD rate in most market segments, especially at the BDC segment, as CBN sustains its special interventions.