Economy
Naira Settled Currency Futures Records Highest Daily Trading Volume in October

By Quantitative Financial Analytics
The daily trading volume of Nigeria Settled FX currency futures has plunged over the past weeks as the original excitement that greeted its introduction appears to have waned.
An analysis of the open interest reports issued by the FMDQ indicates that the currency futures market had momentum, going by the notable and hitherto increasing trading volume the market enjoyed from June 27th until a couple of weeks ago.
Volumes, enthusiasm wane
At introduction, the Naira settled currency market was instituted as a way to manage foreign currency risk exposure by Nigerians and Nigerian companies.
As the market got underway, the trading volume peaked so much such that some analysts and observers began to wonder whether the market was being used to manage currency risk exposure or was it providing large investors with arbitrage opportunities.
However, rather than bridge the gap between the official exchange rate and that of the parallel market as intended, the divergence between the two has been increasing instead.
Market participants traded over $1 b worth of currency futures in notional terms from June 27th to July 31 (excluding matured positions). In August alone, about $1,581.69 million worth of trades was recorded with daily transaction activity ranging from as little as $3.89m to as high as $340.63m, according to analysis by Quantitative Financial Analytics.
In comparison, currency futures trading volume fell dramatically in September as $785.15m notional was traded the entire month. Daily trading peaked on September 9, reaching $110.02m and $92.97 on 27th September.
If the trading volume in September was poor, that of October has been dismal as the FX Futures market seems to have suffered excitement fatigue.
So far in October, only $116.84 notional value has been traded with the daily transaction activity ranging from a low of $0.5m on 10/11/16 to a high of $19.57 (10/4/16). There was not a single trade on October 12th but the lull in the market seems to have eased as a whopping $43.07 million trading volume was recorded on October 18, the highest so far in October.
The reason for the declining interest could be because investors are beginning to see the market as one that does not have much to offer beyond their speculative value but for a currency like the Naira whose direction is easy to predict, there may not be much to speculate on.
Again, the divergence between the official and parallel market rates makes it less attractive to contract to sell dollar via the futures market.
Furthermore, the convergence of the NIFEX rate and the contract rates on the futures makes it more difficult to extract arbitrage opportunities from the futures contracts and therefore less attractive.
For analysts and market watchers wondering if there is a future for currency futures in Nigeria, it does look like the end is not near for the market as trading volume could peak at any time.
Source: Quantitative Financial Analytics/FMDQ
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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