The Nigerian naira experienced a strengthening across the various foreign exchange platforms, as newly released data indicated that the influx of United States dollars expanded by approximately 8.2% on a week-over-week basis, reaching $1.19 billion.
The exchange rate at the immediate settlement market faced considerable pressures in the preceding weeks, primarily due to a scarcity of foreign currency within the official exchange window, despite consistent interventions by the nation’s monetary regulator.
The Central Bank of Nigeria actively participated in the foreign exchange market for eight successive trading sessions, with the aim of maintaining a robust supply environment, as a limited availability of US dollars generated upward pressure on the naira. According to spot foreign exchange data obtained from the FMDQ foreign exchange trading platform, the naira appreciated by 0.20%, settling at N1,533.10 per United States dollar on Monday.
The Nigerian foreign exchange market exhibited a degree of stability during the trading day, supported by an augmented supply of dollars, as communicated to investors in a note circulated by AIICO Capital Limited on Monday. The firm reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria executed sales of $41.6 million at rates ranging between N1,527.50 and N1,531. The trading range for the US dollar against the Nigerian naira fluctuated between N1,527.50 and N1,537.00 throughout the day.
Last week, the official exchange window recorded an inflow of US$1.19 billion, reflecting an increase of 18.2% from the preceding week’s US$1.10 billion recorded on Friday, as indicated in an analyst note issued by Coronation Limited. The breakdown of this inflow revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria accounted for 39.85% of the total, while foreign portfolio investors contributed 18.09% of the aggregate.
Additional contributors included non-bank corporate entities, accounting for 23.81%, and exporters, who supplied 15.67%, with other miscellaneous sources contributing the remaining 2.58%. Within the parallel market, the naira experienced an appreciation of 1.27%, reaching N1,570. Consequently, the disparity between the official and parallel market exchange rates narrowed to N37 per United States dollar.
In the global commodity markets, oil prices registered a 1% increase on Monday, following the announcement by United States President Donald Trump of a 25% tariff on countries purchasing oil and gas from Venezuela, alongside newly imposed US sanctions on Iranian exports.
However, the gains were constrained by reports indicating that OPEC+ intends to proceed with its scheduled production increase in May, and ongoing negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine, which could potentially augment Russian crude supply.
Brent crude oil prices climbed by 70 cents, or 1%, to $72.86 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices gained 73 cents, or 1.05%, to $69. Simultaneously, gold prices experienced a decline, as a stronger US dollar and President Trump’s cautious trade policies exerted downward pressure on the market. Spot gold prices fell by 0.4%, to $3,010.33 per ounce.
