The Foreign Exchange (FX) market in Nigeria experienced a substantial surge in activity, recording a total turnover of $2.84 billion for the week concluded on June 26, 2026. This figure, detailed in the latest weekly FX market turnover report released by FMDQ Exchange and obtained by Nairametrics, indicates a 22.06% increase, or an additional $512.37 million, compared to the $2.32 billion reported for the week ended June 19, 2026.
This improvement in market activity was driven by higher volumes across both the FX Spot and FX Derivatives segments. The market's average daily turnover also saw an increase, reaching $567.09 million during the review week, up from $464.62 million in the preceding period.
A detailed breakdown of market activity reveals that the FX Spot market remained the primary segment, constituting almost all transactions. FX Spot transactions rose to $2.77 billion, representing 97.74% of the total turnover, a week-on-week increase of $484.47 million or 21.18%. The average daily turnover in the FX Spot market increased to $554.28 million from $457.39 million in the previous week.
Conversely, FX Derivatives transactions climbed sharply to $64.04 million from $36.14 million recorded in the preceding week, accounting for 2.26% of total turnover during the review period, up from 1.56%. Overall, FX Derivatives turnover increased by 77.20%, equivalent to an additional $27.90 million in traded value. Within the derivatives segment, FX Forwards remained the only actively traded instrument, with turnover rising to $64.04 million from $36.14 million, representing a 77.20% week-on-week growth. The average daily turnover in the FX Forwards market rose to $12.81 million from $7.23 million, while Exchange-Traded FX Futures recorded no activity during the review week, consistent with the previous week.
The strong increase in FX Spot turnover suggests improved market participation among banks and their clients during the week, reinforcing the market’s continued preference for immediate currency transactions over longer-dated hedging instruments. The sharp increase in FX Forwards turnover points to growing demand for hedging instruments amid persistent exchange rate uncertainty, although the derivatives market remains relatively shallow compared with the spot segment.
The widening gap between spot and derivatives turnover indicates that most market participants still prefer direct access to foreign exchange rather than hedging future currency exposures. The rise in average daily turnover across both market segments also suggests improved liquidity conditions in the interbank foreign exchange market.
This sustained weekly improvement underscores the central role of the FX Spot market in Nigeria’s foreign exchange ecosystem. For the previous week-ended June 19, 2026, the total turnover in the FX Spot and Derivatives markets was $2.323 billion, representing an increase of 7.70% (+$166.05 million) from the $2.157 billion reported for the week-ended June 11, 2026. This increase was jointly driven by a 6.80% ($145.64 million) increase in FX Spot transactions, which recorded a total value of $2.286 billion compared to $2.141 billion in the week-ended June 11, 2026, and FX Derivatives transactions increasing by 129.75% ($20.41 million) for the week-ended June 19, 2026. Exchange-Traded FX Futures has remained the only instrument with zero turnover for the second consecutive week.
The sustained growth in market turnover suggests that liquidity conditions in the foreign exchange market remained relatively robust during the period, although trading activity continues to be concentrated in spot transactions.
