Nigeria recorded its first naira-settled futures trade against the dollar, on Wednesday,June 29 two days after the market was unveiled.
FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, yesterday said the first naira-settled futures trade was done between the Central Bank of Nigeria and Citibank. But the rate at which Wednesday’s futures deal was done and the size of the trade was not disclosed.
The apex bank had on Monday introduced the over-the-counter futures market on the currency, to help manage dollar demand, quoting the naira firmer at N279 to the dollar in a month’s time and at N210 by April next year.
The CBN had last week auctioned $3.5 billion on the futures market to clear a backlog of currency demand after it lifted its 16-month-old peg to allow the naira to trade freely on the interbank market.
It sold $697 million in one-month futures, $1.22 billion in two-month contract and $1.57 billion due in three months, in order to clear a backlog of $4.02 billion of demand.
In the non-deliverable forwards market, the naira rose against the dollar on Wednesday, with the one-month contract quoting the currency at N283, converging almost with the spot market, which traded the naira at N282.
