Tuesday, October 18, 2022: The exchange rate between the naira and dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window stabilized at N441.25/$1. The dollar/naira rate opened the day’s trading on a bearish note as the naira appreciated 0.3 percent (N440/$1) from the previous day’s closing price. However, As the intra-day trading progressed, it dropped to match the closing price on Monday. Meanwhile, the naira has been floating around the N441/$1 benchmark with daily occasional variations. On a week-on-week basis, it has depreciated by 0.02 percent.
An exchange rate of N443/$1 was the highest rate recorded during the intra-day trading before it settled at N441.25/$ at the end of the trading session, while it also traded as low as N420/$ during intra-day trading. According to data from FMDQ, a total of $74.33 million was traded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window for the reporting period. Representing a 60 percent increase in forex supply from the $46.21 million traded the previous day.
Parallel Market
October 19, 2022: At the parallel market, the naira has weakened. It currently trades at N743/1$ as of this writing. Depreciating 0.4 percent from the previous closing price of N740/$. Similarly, trading activities at the B2B market show that the exchange rate between the naira and dollar stands at about N745/1$ for the same period being reported. This is based on the information obtained from BDC operators in Lagos.
Trading Activities at the Official Window
The exchange rate at the official market closed at N441.25/$1 on Tuesday, 18th October 2022. The opening indicative rate was N440/$1 while the closing rate on Monday, 17th October 2022 was N441.25/$1.
Additionally, there was a $28.12 million increase in forex liquidity in the official Investors and Exporters window on Wednesday, representing a 60% decrease from the $95.39 million that exchanged hands during the last trading session.
Foreign Reserves
According to data from the CBN, as of October 17, 2022, the gross external reserve of Nigeria has been declining since the beginning of the month. As of this writing, the country’s reserve base stands at $37.80 billion. Declined by $86 million (0.23 percent) from the 37.88 billion recorded as of October 14.
Sideline: The Bank of America, in a recent update, stated that the official naira to dollar rate is overvalued by 20 percent. An assessment of the currency by the bank revealed that will likely weaken to N520/$.
