The value of dollars traded in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market fell 22.23% to $2.62 billion in the week ended October 16, 2026, from $3.37 billion the previous week, as spot trading slowed and forward transactions dropped sharply.
According to the latest FMDQ report, which tracks foreign exchange transactions between authorised banks and their customers, total trading fell by $749.15 million.
The decline for the review week reverses part of the 98.58% jump recorded in the week ended October 9.
Forward transactions collapse:
Forward transactions, which let businesses and investors agree today on an exchange rate for a currency purchase or sale at a future date, fell 81.14% to $24.89 million from $131.95 million. They accounted for only 0.95% of total turnover, down from 3.92%.
- For example, a Nigerian company expecting to pay a foreign supplier in three months can use a forward contract to reduce uncertainty about how much naira it will need when the payment is due.
- Forward turnover fell by $107.06 million, and average daily forward trading fell sharply to a paltry $4.98 million from $26.39 million.
- Forwards trades have swung widely: they fell to $64.73 million in the week ended October 2, rose to $131.95 million and fell to $24.89 million last week.
The drop is a weekly turnover figure, not a fall in outstanding forward contracts. It measures the contracts executed during the week.
Spot trading slows:
Spot transactions, which involve buying or selling dollars for near-immediate delivery, fell 19.83% to $2.60 billion from $3.24 billion, a decline of $642.09 million.
- Spot trading accounted for 99.05% of turnover, up from 96.08%.
- Average daily spot turnover fell to $519.16 million from $647.58 million.
- Average daily turnover for the whole market fell 22.23% to $524.14 million from $673.97 million.
Spot trading made up about 85.7% of the dollar decline, while forwards made up about 14.3%. The forward market fell much faster in percentage terms, but spot trading accounted for most of the dollars lost.
Still above early October:
Weekly turnover remains above the $1.70 billion recorded in the week ended October 2, which fell 35.41%.
- The latest figure is $923.73 million, or 54.43%, above October 2. But the October 2 week had four trading days, and the October 9 and 16 weeks had five.
- On an average-daily basis, turnover is about 23.5% above October 2’s $424.24 million.
- Turnover has also been volatile over a longer period. In the week ended September 11, it reached $3.39 billion as forwards surged 505.79%.
Spot trading now makes up almost all reported turnover, at about 104 times Forward turnover, compared with about 24.5 times a week earlier.
Naira appreciates across contract tenors in Forwards Market:
Despite the wide swing in Forwards turnover, the Naira has appreciated across contract tenors in that segment of Nigeria’s money market.
- Cordros Securities report indicated that in the Forwards Market, the Naira appreciated in the 1-month (+1bp to N1,352.89/USD), 3-month (+8bps to N1,370.80/USD), 6-month (+22bps to N1,436.75/USD), and 1-year (+65bps to N1,531.01/USD) contracts.
- The report stated that the local currency depreciated by 0.1% week-on-week to N1,333.09/USD, as renewed domestic demand outweighed the impact of the CBN’s USD430.60 million intervention during the week.
- Nairametrics analysis of FMDA data shows foreign exchange demand hit a 15-year high of $18.34 billion in the second quarter of 2026, particularly demand for dollars is rising in services and financial payments.
- “We expect the naira to remain broadly stable around current levels in the near term, supported by a strong foreign reserve position and a continued current account surplus. That said, downside risks remain from lower domestic yields and tighter global financial conditions,” Cordros Securities projected.