Naira gains marginally at investors FX segment

…Records $632.69m transactions turnover in 3 days

…As CBN lifts Forex market with $210m

Motolani Oseni

The Nigerian currency, Naira on the last trading day of last week, appreciated marginally against the United States Dollar at the Investors & Exporters FX (I&E FX) window, gaining by 0.04 per cent to close at N360.39, compared to N360.52 traded the previous day.

The Naira, had on Wednesday stood at a lower rate of N360.80 to the dollar at the I&E FX window, before closing at an improved rate of N360.53 and eventually end the week high at a better rate of N360.39 to the dollar.

The special FX window, however, recorded a total transactions turnover of $632.69 million in just three days of the last week.

The breakdown of the figure showed that the FX window, traded total turnover of $72.95 million on Wednesday, but improved significantly the following day to $342.66 million, before dropping to $217.08 on Friday.

At both the Bureau De Change (BDC) and the parallel market segments, the Naira was flat against the US dollar at N359 per Dollar and N361 to a Dollar respectively.

Meanwhile, the Naira gained for most of the foreign exchange forward contracts; spot rate, 1 month, 2 months, 6 months and 12 months’ rates fell by 0.02 per cent, 0.13 per cent, 0.10 per cent, 0.43 per cent and 1.29 per cent to close at N306.90/$, N362.90/$, N365.84/$, N379.04/$ and N397.70/$ respectively.

Although, during the week under review, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its bid to sustain liquidity in the forex market injected $210 million into the interbank foreign exchange market.

From the $210 million sold to the forex traders at the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), the apex bank allotted $100 million Wholesale SMIS, while $55 million was given each to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and invisible.

According to analysts at Cowry Asset, in the new week, they “expect appreciation of the Naira against the Dollar in most market segments, especially at the I&E segment as CBN sustains its special interventions.”