Market News

By Jide Ajia

Activity in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market recorded a sharp contraction during the week ended on Friday, 2 October, 2026, as liquidity tightened following a notable surge in trading volume the preceding week.

The drop reflects ongoing adjustments in FX supply dynamics and seasonal demand fluctuations across the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, where institutional liquidity often fluctuates in response to central bank interventions, export proceeds, and foreign portfolio inflows.

Data from the FMDQ FX Market Analysis Report reveals that total FX turnover across the Spot and Derivatives markets fell by 35.41 per cent ($930.18m) to settle at $1.70bn, down from the $2.63bn recorded during the week ended 25 September, 2026. The daily average turnover across both market segments contracted to $424.24m compared to $525.43m in the prior week.

The weekly downturn was primarily driven by the spot market, where transaction value dropped by 36.93 per cent ($955.70m) to $1.63bn, down from $2.59bn in the preceding week. Spot trades, which typically reflect immediate currency needs for trade obligations and corporate remittances, accounted for 96.19 per cent of the total FX turnover, with daily average spot transactions falling from $517.59m to $408.06m.

Conversely, the FX Derivatives market experienced growth, surging by 65.09 per cent ($25.52m) to reach $64.73m, up from $39.21m recorded in the week ended September 25, 2026.

The derivatives market, composed entirely of FX Forwards turnover, expanded its market share from 1.49 per cent to 3.81 per cent of total market activity, posting a daily average of $16.18m compared to $7.84m in the previous week.

This uptick in forwards trading highlights growing efforts by market participants to hedge against currency volatility and lock in exchange rates for future obligations amid shifting macroeconomic conditions.