…as OMO worth N313.56bn mature Thursday
The exchange rate of the Nigerian naira to the American dollar remained unchanged at N361 on the streets Wednesday, while it strengthened marginally by 0.01 percent to N361.87/$1 in the
investors and exporters window of Nigeria’s multiple foreign exchange markets.
Total turnover in the IEW rose by 30.37 percent to $138.80 million, traded within the N359-N3630/$ band, just as allocation of the $210 million injected by Nigeria’s central bank into the FX market was distributed.
$100 million was allocated to the wholesale window, and $55 million each to the SMEs and Invisibles segments.
On the money market, overnight lending rate declined further by 325 bps to 11.75 percent, in anticipation of inflows via open market operation (OMO) bill maturities, valued at N313.56 billion, expected in Thursday’s trading session.
Average yield trended northwards in the treasury bills market, expanding by 9 bps to 12.27 percent, amid bearish sentiments. Yields rose on all ends of the curve – short (+4 bps), mid (+17 bps), and long (+3 bps) – following selloffs of the 64DTM (+58 bps), 113DTM (+69 bps), and 218DTM (+10 bps) bills, respectively.
Sentiments in the bond market were similarly bearish, as average yield rose by 7 bps to 13.89 percent. Selloffs of the FEB-2020 (+57 bps) and MAR-2024 (+8 bps) bonds led to yield expansion at the short (+22 bps) and mid (+2 bps) ends of the curve, respectively. Conversely, yield contracted at the long (-4 bps) segment, following investor interest in the MAR-2036 (-10 bps) bond.
