Economy

Naira to Appreciate This Week Amidst Drop in Reserves, FPIs Inflows

Published

6 years ago

30/09/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

There are strong indications that the Naira will appreciate at the foreign exchange (forex) market this week, analysts at Cowry Asset and Business Post have predicted.

According to Business Post analysts, the domestic currency will record a marginal gain against the Dollar in the four-day trading week despite the expected decline in the nation’s external reserves.

As at last Wednesday, data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by Business Post showed that the reserves were at $42.1 billion from $42.2 billion in the previous day.

From our analysis, the local currency will get an unusual strength from the easing of pressure from the demand of FX from investors as well as exporters at their market segment.

In the past few days, Business Post has observed lower demand for the foreign currency at the I&E window as shown by the FMDQ, a platform which gives update on the daily turnover at the market.

Last Tuesday, the Naira depreciated after market demand for FX rose by 37 percent to trade at N362.29/$, and the next day, a 35.8 percent decline in the turnover left the local currency flat at N362.29/$.

On Thursday, the Naira lost 29 kobo to trade at N362.58/$ despite a marginal 9.2 percent drop in demand for FX at the I$E segment. But on Friday, the Naira appreciated to N362.02/$1 after gaining 56 kobo on 59.4 percent decline in the market turnover for the third straight session.

It was observed that the decrease in the turnover is attributed to the inflow of forex into the country from foreign portfolio investors, who are finding Nigerian markets attractive again especially with the low prices stocks are being traded at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as well as rising yields of bonds and treasury bills.

This point was buttressed by analysts at Cowry Asset, who said, “In the new week, we expect appreciation of the Naira against the USD across the market segments as seemingly renewed interest by foreign portfolio investors in local financial assets is further felt amid rate cut in US.”

Last week, Naira appreciated at the I&E to close at N362.02/$, but traded flat at the Bureau De Change as well as the parallel (black) markets, closing at N358.00/$ and N360.00/$ respectively.

Also, at the interbank segment, the domestic currency depreciated to N358.13/$ despite the weekly injections of $210 million by the CBN into the FX market via the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).

In the intervention, the apex bank allocated $100 million to Wholesale SMIS, $55 million to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and another $55 million for invisibles.

Meanwhile, the Naira/USD exchange rate fell (i.e. Naira appreciated) for most of the foreign exchange forward contracts – one month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months rates fell by 0.11 percent, 0.09 percent, 0.03 percent, 0.26 percent and 0.42 percent to close at N365.31/$, N368.73/$, N372.28/$, N382.97/$ and N409.45/$ respectively. However, spot rate was flattish at N306.95/$.

Economy

NASD OTC Bourse Soars 0.60%

Published

2 hours ago

06/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The trading compass at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange pointed north on Monday, January 5 after the market closed higher by 0.60 per cent.

The NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) added 21.49 points to close at 3,575.33 points compared to the previous session’s 3,553.84 points just as the market capitalisation inflated by N12.86 billion to finish at N2.139 trillion, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N2.126 trillion.

The growth recorded by the NASD OTC bourse yesterday was influenced by three securities led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N4.70 to close at N51.70 per share compared with the previous N47.00 per share.

Further, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 43 Kobo to settle at N6.94 per unit versus N6.51 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 37 Kobo to N36.00 per share from N35.63 per share.

Data from the alternative stock exchange showed a drop in investor appetite as the volume of trades declined by 94.7 per cent to 193,973 units from 3.6 million units, while the value of transactions decreased by 68.2 per cent to N4.5 million from N14.1 billion, with the number of deals sliding by 34.8 per cent to 15 deals compared to 23 deals.

At the close of business, CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 341,080 units sold for N12.2 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 535,970 units valued at N3.5 million, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 2.9 million units exchanged for N1.9 million.

However, IGI Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 2.9 million units traded for N1.9 million. trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 535,970 units worth N3.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 341,080 units valued at N12.2 million.

Economy

Naira Improves to N1,429/$1 at NAFEM, N1,470/$1 at Black Market

Published

2 hours ago

06/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week on Monday, January 5, higher against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) after gaining N1.54 or 0.11 per cent to sell for N1,429.31/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,430.85/$1.

This positive run extended was witnessed against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday as the Nigerian currency improved its value by N5.51 to trade at N1,920.27/£1 versus last Friday’s price of N1,925.78/£1 and appreciated against the Euro by N10.80 to close at N1,667.43/€1 compared with the previous trading day’s rate of N1,687.24/€1.

At the black market, the Naira chalked up N5 against the US Dollar during the session to sell for N1,470/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,475/$1 and at the GTBank forex counter, it lost N3 to settle at N1,438/$1 versus the previous value of N1,435/$1.

The Naira seems to have continued from where it left of in 2025, a year that it maintained relative stability, a sharp contrast from the extreme volatility witnessed in 2024. The domestic currency exchange rate appreciated by 7.4 per cent year-on-year to close FY 2025 at N1,429/$1.

Despite pressure from the movement of the Dollar in the international market early on Monday, the Naira is shielded by a broadly stable outlook, supported by rising external reserves and sustained Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs).

Market analysts expect that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will maintain its strategic interventions in the FX market and implement initiatives aimed at boosting liquidity and curbing speculative activities.

As for the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) continued to trade above $2, driven by heavy institutional trading and a shrinking supply on exchanges. It’s value went up by 10.9 per cent on Monday to $2.36.

Spot XRP exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the US posted $48 million in inflows on Monday, extending a green streak for the products, which have not seen a single day of outflows since their November 13 launch.

Yesterday, Cardano (ADA) grew by 4.6 per cent to $0.4202, Solana (SOL) added 2.3 per cent to quote at $138.33, Ethereum (ETH) increased by 2.1 per cent to $3,223.22, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $83.45, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.9 per cent to $93,323.81, Binance Coin (BNB) also appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $905.01, and Dogecoin (DOGE) soared by 0.2 per cent to $0.1505, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Crude Oil Market Soars as Traders Weigh Maduro’s Ordeal

Published

2 hours ago

06/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The crude oil market was up by about a Dollar per barrel on Monday as traders assessed the possible impact on crude flows from Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the United States.

Brent crude gained $1.01 or 1.66 per cent to sell at $61.76 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by $1 or 1.74 per cent to $58.32 per barrel.

Investors digested news of President Maduro’s capture and that the US would take control of Venezuela, which is a founding member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose crude exports had been under a US embargo.

Venezuelan oil output has plummeted in recent decades, curbed by mismanagement and a lack of foreign investment after the nationalisation of oil operations in the 2000s. Output averaged about 1 million barrels per day last year, equating to about 1 per cent of global production.

It was reported that the US government would meet with oil companies, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or Chevron Corp, to discuss Venezuelan oil production future.

Market analysts noted that Venezuelan production could rise by as much as 500,000 barrels per day over the next 18 months under improved political and investment conditions, a development that could further weigh on oil prices despite the likelihood of a response from OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) if inventories rise sharply.

US President Donald Trump has been very clear that the blockade of Venezuela and the capture of its president have been driven by the desire to revive Venezuela’s oil industry and regain what he alleges were stolen assets and oil.

President Trump also raised the possibility of further US interventions, suggesting Colombia and Mexico could face military action if they did not reduce the flow of illicit drugs.

Analysts are also awaiting Iran’s reaction to President Trump’s threat to intervene in a crackdown on protests in the OPEC producer.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ decided to maintain their output on Sunday. The eight members – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – agreed in November to pause output hikes for January, February and March due to relatively low demand in the northern hemisphere winter, and this policy was affirmed at the meeting.