The worth of {dollars} traded in Nigeria’s overseas change market fell 22.23% to $2.62 billion within the week ended October 16, 2026, from $3.37 billion the earlier week, as spot trading slowed and ahead transactions dropped sharply.
According to the most recent FMDQ report, which tracks overseas change transactions between authorised banks and their prospects, complete trading fell by $749.15 million.
The decline for the overview week reverses a part of the 98.58% jump recorded in the week ended October 9.
Forward transactions collapse:
Forward transactions, which let companies and traders agree in the present day on an change price for a forex buy or sale at a future date, fell 81.14% to $24.89 million from $131.95 million. They accounted for under 0.95% of complete turnover, down from 3.92%.
- For instance, a Nigerian firm anticipating to pay a overseas provider in three months can use a ahead contract to cut back uncertainty about how a lot naira it would want when the cost is due.
- Forward turnover fell by $107.06 million, and common each day ahead trading fell sharply to a paltry $4.98 million from $26.39 million.
- Forwards trades have swung extensively: they fell to $64.73 million within the week ended October 2, rose to $131.95 million and fell to $24.89 million final week.
The drop is a weekly turnover determine, not a fall in excellent ahead contracts. It measures the contracts executed in the course of the week.
Spot trading slows:
Spot transactions, which contain shopping for or promoting {dollars} for near-immediate supply, fell 19.83% to $2.60 billion from $3.24 billion, a decline of $642.09 million.
- Spot trading accounted for 99.05% of turnover, up from 96.08%.
- Average each day spot turnover fell to $519.16 million from $647.58 million.
- Average each day turnover for the entire market fell 22.23% to $524.14 million from $673.97 million.
Spot trading made up about 85.7% of the dollar decline, whereas forwards made up about 14.3%. The ahead market fell a lot quicker in proportion phrases, however spot trading accounted for a lot of the {dollars} misplaced.
Still above early October:
Weekly turnover stays above the $1.70 billion recorded in the week ended October 2, which fell 35.41%.
- The newest determine is $923.73 million, or 54.43%, above October 2. But the October 2 week had 4 trading days, and the October 9 and 16 weeks had 5.
- On an average-daily foundation, turnover is about 23.5% above October 2’s $424.24 million.
- Turnover has additionally been risky over an extended interval. In the week ended September 11, it reached $3.39 billion as forwards surged 505.79%.
Spot trading now makes up nearly all reported turnover, at about 104 occasions Forward turnover, in contrast with about 24.5 occasions every week earlier.
Naira appreciates throughout contract tenors in Forwards Market:
Despite the extensive swing in Forwards turnover, the Naira has appreciated throughout contract tenors in that phase of Nigeria’s cash market.
- Cordros Securities report indicated that within the Forwards Market, the Naira appreciated within the 1-month (+1bp to N1,352.89/USD), 3-month (+8bps to N1,370.80/USD), 6-month (+22bps to N1,436.75/USD), and 1-year (+65bps to N1,531.01/USD) contracts.
- The report acknowledged that the native forex depreciated by 0.1% week-on-week to N1,333.09/USD, as renewed home demand outweighed the influence of the CBN’s USD430.60 million intervention in the course of the week.
- Nairametrics analysis of FMDA data exhibits overseas change demand hit a 15-year excessive of $18.34 billion within the second quarter of 2026, notably demand for {dollars} is rising in companies and monetary funds.
- “We expect the naira to remain broadly stable around current levels in the near term, supported by a strong foreign reserve position and a continued current account surplus. That said, downside risks remain from lower domestic yields and tighter global financial conditions,” Cordros Securities projected.
