The official foreign exchange (FX) market witnessed a decline in the value of the Nigerian naira against the US dollar despite a surge in dollar supply on Wednesday. According to data from the FMDQ, the naira depreciated by 1.15%, with the dollar quoted at N854.61, weaker than the N844.85 recorded on Tuesday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Dollar supply from willing buyers and sellers experienced a notable increase of 62.22%, reaching $181.30 million on Wednesday compared to $111.76 million on Tuesday. However, this influx did not prevent the naira from weakening against the US currency.
In the spot trading segment, the FX rate stood at N1,249 against N1,189.12 on Tuesday. On the lower spot segment, the dollar was quoted at N700, stronger than the N720 rate recorded on the previous day at NAFEM.
Meanwhile, in the money market, the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) secondary market closed positively, with the average yield across the curve decreasing by 12 basis points to 8.51% from 8.63% on the previous day, as reported by FSDH research.
The report highlighted that the average yield across long-term maturities declined by 20 basis points, while short-term and medium-term maturities remained unchanged. The NTB for the November 7, 2025 (-116 bps) maturity bill attracted maximum buying interest.
In the Open Market Operation (OMO) bills market, the average yield remained steady at 11.38%, both across the curve and long-term maturities.
Turning to the fixed income market, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds secondary market closed on a flat note, with the average bond yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 14.62%. The average yield for the medium tenor increased by one basis point, while short-tenor and long-tenor yields remained unchanged. The report highlighted that the April 26, 2029, bond was the worst performer, experiencing a 5 basis points yield increase.
At the FGN savings bond auction for December 2023, the Debt Management Office (DMO) allotted bonds worth N1.67 billion across the two-year (N477.98 million) and three-year (N1,195.71 million) tenors at coupon rates of 12.287% (-18 bps) and 13.287% (-18 bps), respectively. The allotment for two-year bonds decreased by 44.53%, while three-year bonds saw a 40.24% decrease compared to the previous auction.
