Naira value rises to N1,175/USD @ parallel market, N786.02 at IEW

The Nigerian Naira on Wednesday sustained the growth momentum at both segments of the foreign Exchange (FX) market. The Nigerian Naira traded positively against the US dollar. Specifically, the Naira appreciated by 3.59 per cent to close at N786.02 to the dollar in the official I & E window (IEW).

This comes even as the federal chart path to attaining stability of the local currency as well as improve the level of FX market liquidity. In a similar vein in the parallel market, the Naira’s performance was positive as it appreciated further at the close of trading on Wednesday by 0.09 per cent. The local currency closed at N1,175 per dollar from the previous sessions’ N1,176 per dollar.

Trends at the money market showed that , NIBOR closed in the mix at mid-week. The overnight Nibor increased by 20bps to close at 17.08 per cent, 1-month and 3-month Nibor declined by 1.42 per cent and 0.57 per cent, while the 6-month Nibor remained unchanged from the previous day.

Meanwhile, key money market rates, such as the open repo rate (OPR) and the overnight lending rate (OVN), increased to 15.92 per cent and 17.13% In the Nigerian Interbank Treasury Bills market, the Nigerian Interbank Treasury Bills True Yield (NITTY) showed upward movements for all tenors tracked.

The average secondary market yield on Nigerian Treasury Bills displayed bearish activity level at the close of the session, increasing by 20bps to reach 11.13%.

Bond Market activities showed that the secondary market for FGN Bonds was slightly bearish on Wednesday even as the MAR 25 and APR 49 FGN papers emerged as the worst performers at midweek on the back of sell interests which drove the average bond yield in the bond market higher by 4bps.

Likewise, In Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds market, activity level was dominantly in the bearish region as negative sentiments pervaded the market with negative movement in yields. As a result, the average yield in the market inched higher by 21bps to close at 11.61% due to sell interest.

Global Commodity Market trend was upbeat, as the Brent crude was up 1.93 per cent to $86.67 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil also rose by 2.38 per cent to trade at $82.95 per barrel.