Naira on Thursday steadied at N755 per dollar at the parallel market, also known as the ‘black market’, as demand slowed.
Some of the street traders resumed business on Thursday as the bank branches close to them also resumed operations.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E forex window, Nigeria’s official foreign exchange market, Naira appreciated by 0.14 percent as the dollar was quoted at N461.35 on Wednesday as against the last close of N462.00 on Tuesday.
Most of the currency dealers who participated at the FX auction on Wednesday maintained bids between N446.00 (low) and N462.50 (high) per dollar, data from the FMDQ indicated.
The daily foreign exchange market turnover rose by 105.03 percent to $98.60 million on Wednesday from $48.09 million recorded on Tuesday.
A new report from the FBNQuest, taken from the most recent Quarterly Statistical Bulletin (QSB) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), total foreign exchange (FX) inflow into the Nigerian economy fell by -13 percent quarter-on-quarter (q/q) and -44 percent year-over-year(y/y) to $16.9 billion in the third quarter (Q3) 2022.
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Except for a small increase in Q2 2022, the quarterly trend for FX inflow has been downward since Q3 2021. In terms of the total inflow of FX, autonomous sources accounted for about $9.7bn, or about 57 percent of the total inflow.
The balance of almost $7.3bn was due to FX inflow through the CBN. The total outbound flow of FX (outflow) from the economy also decreased by -10 percent q/q and -3 percent y/y to $9.9bn. Combined, the data implies net FX inflow of about $7.0 billion, one of the lowest in recent times.
Foreign exchange inflow through the CBN increased by 17 percent q/q. Unlike prior quarters, the data series from the CBN does not show a breakdown for key headline items such as inflows through the CBN.
“We see from the CBN’s latest monthly report for Q3 2022 that the lower FX inflow through the central bank was mostly driven by lower receipts from non-oil sources,” analysts at FBNQuest said.
FX outflows through the CBN were flat q/q at about $8.5bn. The outflows were largely attributable to external debt service payments and third-party transfers for government ministries departments and agencies.
The total forex flow (inflow and outflow) through the CBN resulted in a net outflow of $1.3bn during the quarter. The net outflow position highlights the demand pressure on gross official reserves and the naira exchange rate.
Forex inflow through autonomous sources also declined by 10 percent q/q to $9.7bn, largely due to a reduction in over-the-counter purchases.
