Nigeria’s foreign reserves surges to $36.506bn

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to $36.5 billion, though naira depreciated by 0.13 per cent against the US dollar in the foreign exchange market as forex liquidity in the market remained depressed. 

Data from FMDQ platform showed that the naira closed at N1,611.40 per US dollar, a 0.13 per cent depreciation from the previous close.

In the parallel market, the naira closed the day at an average of N1,576 per US dollar as FX demand for invisible payments climbed again.  In the global commodity market, Crude oil prices declined as traders appeared unfazed by the risk of widening war between Israel and the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

Brent prices fell by 1.61 per cent to $79.82, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI prices decreased by 1.71 per cent to $75.84. Furthermore, the price of gold fell by 0.21 per cent to $2,376.10 per ounce.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves climbed to $36.506 billion due to sustained inflows from various sources, including revenue accrued from NNPCL trades among others.

Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Report of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that total transactions in the domestic equities market contracted marginally by 0.2 per cent to N354.55 billion in June from N355.38 billion.

Analysts highlighted that foreign investors primarily drove the decline in the review period. Foreign inflows which accounted for 23.2 per cent of market transactions dropped by 33.9 per cent to N82.19 billion from N124.28 billion in May.

The decline was attributed to weakening investors’ sentiments, primarily due to renewed forex liquidity constraints. Meanwhile, domestic transactions increased by 17.9 per cent to N272.36 billion from N231.10 billion in May, 2024.