Thursday, July 21, 2022: The Nigerian Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX Window closed the trading session on a bullish note as the naira gained slightly against the dollar to stand at N426/$1, representing a 0.2 percent appreciation from the opening rate (N426.88/$1). This also represents a 0.14 appreciation day-on-day when compared to the closing price of 426.58 recorded the previous day.
An exchange rate of N431/$1 was the highest rate recorded during the intra-day trading before it settled at N426/$1 at the end of the trading session, while it also traded as low as N414/$1 during intra-day trading. According to data from FMDQ, a total of $180.83 million was traded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window for the reporting period. This means that liquidity in the market is increasing as more transactions were fulfilled in the official market.
In the parallel market, the naira closed against the dollar at N641/$1, reaching an all-time low in the value of the naira. It declined by 0.16 percent compared to N640/$1 traded on Wednesday, the previous day. Trading activities at the B2B market show that the exchange rate closed at about N645/$1 for the same period being reported. This is based on the information obtained from BDC operators in Lagos.
Foreign Reserves
Nigeria’s gross external reserve has been crawling upward since July 2022. According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as of July 15, Nigeria’s foreign reserve stands at $39.44 billion, improving slightly by $10.9 million (0.03 percent) from the 39.43 billion recorded as of July 14.
Despite supportive oil prices, gross FX reserves maintained the $38 billion – $39 billion threshold since May 2022. It reached $41.5 billion in September 2021 as a result of the IMF’s SDR allocation and Eurobond issuance.
Capital Market Update
As of July 21, 2022, the Nigerian equities market closed the trading session on a bearish note as the NGX All Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.12 percent to close at 52122.00. The trading volume was 17,110,881 units, while the total value that exchanged hands was N292,901,513.93.
A varied performance was observed for the sectors under our review as the NGX indices for two sectors increased, with the remaining three indices declining. Insurance and Oil and Gas performances were bullish as the two indices closed in the green while Consumer goods, Banking, and Pension indices closed in the red. The Insurance Index, leading the gainers rose by 79 basis points (bps), Oil and gas by 9 bps. On the other hand, the Pension index dropped by 22 bps, Banking by 36 bps, while Consumer goods, having the highest decline, dipped by 41 bps.
FIDELITYBK led the top gainers having risen by 0.32 percent while HONYFLOUR led the decliners as it dropped by 7.79 percent. GTCO was the most traded stock by volume and it was also the most traded by value as of the end of the trading session for the reporting period.
