July 13, (THEWILL) — Nigeria’s foreign exchange market recorded its steepest weekly decline in turnover this year, with total transactions across the FX Spot and Derivatives markets falling 46.57 percent to $1.631 billion in the week ended July 10, 2026, from $3.053 billion recorded a week earlier.
According to FMDQ’s weekly FX market commentary, the $1.422 billion week-on-week decline marked the largest single-week drop in market turnover in 2026, reversing the strong trading activity seen in the first week of July.
The sharp slowdown was reflected in daily trading volumes, with the average value of transactions dropping to $326.22 million from $610.60 million in the previous week, indicating softer interbank and corporate demand for foreign exchange during the five-day trading period.
FX Spot transactions accounted for the bulk of the decline, falling 46.62 percent to $1.580 billion from $2.960 billion. Despite the drop, the segment remained the dominant source of market activity, representing 96.86 percent of total turnover, broadly unchanged from the previous week’s 96.94 percent share.
Trading in FX Forwards also weakened, declining 45.19 percent to $51.22 million from $93.45 million. However, forwards maintained a relatively stable share of overall market activity at 3.14 percent, suggesting demand for hedging instruments remained resilient despite lower transaction volumes.
Market analysts said the decline reflects a normalisation after the unusually strong trading volumes recorded in the week ended July 3 rather than a deterioration in market liquidity. Reduced import financing demand, lower interbank positioning and the typical slowdown in corporate FX activity following the start of a new quarter were cited as key factors behind the contraction.
The latest decline follows three consecutive weeks of rising turnover, which climbed from $2.32 billion in the week ended June 19 to $2.84 billion on June 26 before peaking at $3.05 billion in the first week of July.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze is a writer specializing in business and economic journalism. At THEWILL News Media, she translates market trends, financial developments, and policy shifts into clear and engaging stories.
