Nigeria FX Turnover Drops 44.9% to $2 Billion

For the week ending 14 August 2026, total turnover in Nigeria's foreign exchange market, as reported by FMDQ Securities Exchange, declined by 44.90% to $2,054.89 million from $3,729.44 million the previous week. This decline represents a week-on-week loss of $1,674.55 million across both FX Spot and Derivatives markets.

The downturn is attributed to fluctuations in local liquidity demand, with interbank authorized dealers and corporate clients adjusting foreign currency exposures based on trade obligations and economic indicators. FX Spot transactions saw a contraction of 46.98%, dropping from $3,704.44 million to $1,964.00 million, reducing its daily average from $740.89 million to $443.22 million.

Conversely, the FX Derivatives market experienced a substantial growth of 263.56%, increasing from $25.00 million to $90.89 million, driven entirely by the FX Forwards market. Despite the growth in derivatives, the overall market activity declined due to the significant drop in spot trading.