Nigeria’s foreign exchange market recorded $2.62 billion in total dollar turnover in the week ended October 16, 2026, down 22.23% from $3.37 billion the previous week, according to FMDQ data. The fall of $749.15 million reflects weaker spot activity and a sharp contraction in forward transactions.
Spot trades, which involve near-immediate dollar delivery, fell 19.83% to $2.60 billion and accounted for 99.05% of total turnover. Average daily spot turnover declined to $519.16 million from $647.58 million.
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Forward transactions—contracts that allow firms to lock in an exchange rate for a future payment—fell 81.14% to $24.89 million, from $131.95 million. Their share of total turnover dropped from 3.92% to 0.95%, while average daily forward turnover fell to $4.98 million.
Despite the weekly decline, total turnover remained 54.43% above the $1.70 billion recorded in the week ended October 2. The naira also appreciated across forward-contract tenors during the period.
