Friday, September 2, 2022: The exchange rate at the Nigerian Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX Window opened trading on a positive note (429.10/$1) as the naira gained 0.2 percent against the dollar. As the intra-day trading progressed, the naira slid down to close at N431.50/$1. representing a 0.35 percent decline from the previous day’s closing price of N430. Notably, the 25 percent increase in liquidity did not positively impact the value of the naira.
An exchange rate of N444/$ was the highest rate recorded during the intra-day trading before it settled at N431.50/$1 at the end of the trading session, while it also traded as low as 418/$ during intra-day trading. According to data from FMDQ, a total of $93.50 million was traded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window for the reporting period, representing an increase of $18.86 million from the $74.68 million traded the previous day.
The naira weakened against the dollar at the parallel (black) market as it closed at about N700/$, losing 0.3 percent to the greenback. On a week-on-week basis, the naira depreciated 0.6 percent against the dollar. Trading activities at the B2B market show that the exchange rate closed at about N703/$ for the same period being reported. This is based on the information obtained from forex marketers in Lagos.
Foreign Reserves
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the gross foreign reserve ticked up slightly to $39.02 billion as of August 31, 2022, increasing by $9.5 million (0.02 percent) from $39.01 billion recorded on August 30, 2022.
Capital Market Update
As of September 2, 2022, the Nigerian equities market closed the trading session with the NGX All Share Index (ASI) increasing by 31 basis points (bps) to close at 50045.83.
All the sectors under our review recorded a bullish performance except Oil and Gas. Banking, Insurance, Pension, and Consumer Goods indices closed green, while that of the Oil and Gas closed red. The Insurance index increased by 85bps, Pension by 79bps, Consumer Goods by 38bps, and Banking by 9bps. On the other hand, the Oil and gas index decreased by 5bps.
