By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange has recorded a turnover of N8.79 trillion in fixed income and currency markets for the month of April.
This is contained in the company’s market turnover obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
A breakdown of the data showed that the turnover was 34.50 per cent or N4.64 trillion lower when compared to N13.42 trillion recorded in March 2017.
The report indicated that Treasury Bills’ (TBs) transactions accounted for 42.24 per cent of the total value, while turnover in FGN bonds accounted for 7.19 per cent of total turnover.
It stated that money market and foreign exchange market activities accounted for 22.85 per cent and 27.71 per cent of the total turnover respectively.
The report added that the value of transactions in the foreign exchange market decreased by 24.39 per cent or 2.38 billion dollars month-on-month.
It said that the supply of foreign exchange into the market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also dropped by 49.10 per cent or 1.98 billion dollars to settle at 2.05 billion dollars during the month under review.
The report stated that tight liquidity in the inter-bank window due to continued withdrawal of naira by the CBN through several foreign exchange interventions and Open Market Operation auctions, led to drop in the fixed income and money markets during the period.
Further analysis of the report showed that transactions in the foreign exchange market settled at 7.38 billion dollars in April against 9.76 billion in March, indicating a decrease of 24.39 per cent.
It said that the apex bank sold a total of 2.05 billion dollars through various interventions conducted during the period under review.
The report added that the apex bank also maintained its marginal rate for the
Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) – Wholesale Forwards intervention at ₦320 per dollar; and ₦357 per dollar for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles.
It noted that during the review period, Naira remained relatively flat, closing at ₦305.85 per dollar in the inter-bank market and depreciating by ₦2.50 to close at ₦387.50 per dollar in the parallel market against N385 per dollar recorded at the beginning of the month.
