Friday, July 22, 2022: The Nigerian Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX Window closed the trading session on a bearish note as the naira dipped to N430/$ representing a 0.7 percent depreciation from the opening rate (N427/$) at the beginning of trading activities. However, on a week-on-week basis, the naira slightly rose by 0.08 percent from N430.33/$ recorded as of the end of trading the Friday of the previous week.
An exchange rate of N444/$1 remained the highest rate recorded during the intra-day trading before it settled at N430/$ at the end of the trading session, while it also traded as low as N406.90/$ during intra-day trading. According to data from FMDQ, a total of $57.79 million was traded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window for the reporting period. Represent a decrease of 47 percent from the $108.83 million traded the previous day. This shows the level of scarcity of the greenback in the market as fewer transactions were carried out compared to the previous day.
In the parallel market, the naira closed against the dollar at N650/$, declining by 1.4 percent compared to N641/1 traded the previous day. Trading activities at the B2B market show that the exchange rate closed at about N654/$ 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 not improved significantly 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.
The CBN has also maintained a restrictive foreign exchange management policy with consistent intervention in the market.
Capital Market Update
As of July 22, 2022, the Nigerian equities market closed the trading session on a bearish note as the NGX All Share Index (ASI) dipped by 27 basis points (bps) to close at 51979.92. The trading volume was 205,055,019 units, rising from 1,002,793 units traded on Thursday, the previous day.
For sectors under our review, performances were mixed as the NGX indices for two sectors increased, while one remaining index declined. Insurance and consumer goods were bullish as the two indices closed in the green while Banking, pension, and oil and gas indices closed in the red. The Insurance index, leading the gainers rose by 131 bps, consumer goods by 22 bps. On the other hand, the oil and gas index dropped by 12 bps, pension by 74 bps, while Banking, having the highest decline, dipped by 274 bps.
