Nigeria’s dollar trading slumps 22% to $2.62 billion as Forward deals plunge
The value of dollars traded in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market fell 22.23% to $2.62 billion in the week ended October 16, 2026, from $3.37 billion the previous week, as spot trading slowed and forward transactions dropped sharply. The post Nigeria’s dollar trading slumps 22% to $2.62 billion as Forward deals plunge appeared first on Nairametrics .
Nigeria's dollar trading in the foreign exchange market dropped by 22.23% to $2.62 billion in the week ending October 16, 2026, as opposed to $3.37 billion the previous week, according to the FMDQ report. The decline is primarily attributed to a slowdown in spot trading and a significant drop in forward transactions. The total trading volume decreased by $749.15 million, reversing a 98.58% increase seen the week prior.
Forward deals, which allow businesses and investors to agree on an exchange rate for future currency transactions, plummeted by 81.14% to $24.89 million, representing only 0.95% of total turnover, down from 3.92%. Spot transactions, which involve buying or selling dollars for immediate delivery, fell by 19.83% to $2.60 billion, a loss of $642.09 million.
Spot trading now accounts for nearly all reported turnover, at about 104 times the turnover in forward contracts, compared to about 24.5 times in the preceding week. Despite the sharp decline in forward turnover, the Naira has appreciated across various contract tenors in Nigeria's money market.
Written by urgent.news from Nairametrics's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
