Nigeria recorded foreign exchange turnover of $2.18 billion at the Investors and Exporters window, where forex is traded officially, in the month of January 2022, representing a 50.8 percent decline compared to $4.44 billion that exchanged hands in the previous month.
FX turnover in January 2022 represents its lowest level since April 2021, before the CBN discontinued the sales of foreign exchange to BDCs in the country.
The $2.18 billion forex turnover in January, however, represents a 90.3 percent increase when compared to $1.15 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Meanwhile, the official exchange rate appreciated by 4.5 percent to close the month at N415.33/$1 as opposed to N435 to a dollar recorded as of the end of the previous month.
A cursory look at the historic data shows an uptick in the volume of FX traded at the official market in mid-2021, which could be attributed to the ban of FX sales to Bureau De Change operators by the CBN, indicating more liquidity to channel through the official market.
Nigeria has endured FX shortages since the covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, leading to multiple devaluations of the local currencies whilst the apex bank continues to intervene in the official market.
