Nigeria’s foreign exchange market recorded its sharpest weekly turnover decline of 2026, with total transactions in the FX Spot and Derivatives markets falling 46.57% to $1.631 billion in the week ended July 10, 2026. This was a significant drop from $3.053 billion recorded in the preceding week.
The $1.421 billion week-on-week decline is the largest single-week drop in FX market turnover observed so far this year, according to FMDQ weekly FX market commentary.
Both the spot and derivatives segments contracted simultaneously, reversing the $3.053 billion turnover seen in the previous week ended July 3. The daily average turnover fell sharply to $326.22 million from $610.60 million, indicating a $284.38 million per day reduction in interbank and client-driven currency demand.
A detailed breakdown of the FMDQ weekly FX turnover analysis for the weeks ended July 10 and July 3, 2026, reveals a sharp decline across all segments. Total FX turnover decreased by 46.57% to $1.631 billion, a contraction of $1.422 billion from the prior week.
FX Spot transactions experienced the heaviest share of this decline, falling 46.62% to $1.580 billion from $2.960 billion. The daily average for Spot transactions dropped from $591.91 million to $315.98 million.
Despite this sharp contraction, Spot transactions maintained their dominant share of total market activity at 96.86%, broadly consistent with its 96.94% share in the previous week. FX Forwards turnover also declined by 45.19% to $51.22 million from $93.45 million, with its daily average falling from $18.69 million to $10.24 million.
The share of FX Forwards in total derivatives turnover held marginally higher at 3.14% compared with 3.06% the previous week. This suggests that the relative role of hedging instruments within the overall market was preserved despite the pullback in absolute volumes.
The week ended July 10, 2026, appears to represent a normalisation from the elevated $3.053 billion transaction turnover of the prior week ended July 3, rather than a structural deterioration in Nigeria’s FX market liquidity. This compression reflects reduced import financing demand mid-week, lower interbank positioning activity, and the typical lull in corporate FX requirements following the intense quarter-opening week.
Despite the week-on-week decline, transaction volumes remain within the range of June 26 and June 19 levels, suggesting demand was fairly stable even though the July 3 spike was not fully sustained. Notably, FX Forwards’ share of total derivatives turnover held at $51.22 million, marginally lower than $64.04 million recorded for the week ended June 26, confirming the relative importance of hedging instruments has not declined.
Nigeria’s official foreign exchange market has recorded wide weekly swings in turnover in recent weeks, highlighting changing demand patterns among banks, corporates, and institutional investors. The latest contraction follows three consecutive weeks of elevated activity that had briefly pushed weekly turnover above the $3 billion mark.
In the week ended June 19, FX market turnover rose to $2.32 billion as market participants increased trading activity. Activity strengthened further in the week ended June 26, with total turnover climbing to $2.84 billion, supported by a 22% week-on-week increase.
Momentum accelerated again in the week ended July 3 when turnover reached $3.05 billion, the highest weekly level in about three months. This was primarily driven by a surge in FX Spot transactions, which accounted for almost 97% of total market activity.
Although turnover fell sharply in the latest reporting week, the decline appears to represent a normalisation after an unusually strong start to July rather than a deterioration in market liquidity. The FMDQ weekly data tracks transactions executed between Dealing Member banks, authorised dealers, and their clients, serving as a comprehensive indicator of liquidity and activity in Nigeria’s official foreign exchange market. The market continues to operate under Nigeria’s unified, market-determined exchange rate framework introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in June 2023.
