Naira weakens to ₦467/US$1 in parallel forex market

Despite the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the foreign exchange this week, the Naira was devalued to  ₦467/US$1 in the parallel market from ₦465/US$1 it ended last week.

The CBN sold $100.0m through the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) Wholesale Window on September 22, 2020 to boost liquidity levels and maintain stability in all segments of the market. Likewise, in the BDC segment, the CBN has offered over $200.0m since the resumption of FX sales in the retail end of the market.

The CBN spot rate traded flat all week at ₦379.00/US$1.00 this week.

At the Investors & Exporters (I&E) Window, the NAFEX rate closed flat at ₦386.00/US$1.00. In the I&E Window, turnover fell 57.1% to $348.8m from the $812.8m recorded in the previous week.

At the FMDQ Securities Exchange FX Futures Contract Market, the total value of open contracts settled at $12.5bn, down 0.3% ($31.5m) from the prior week.