Nigeria’s overseas alternate utilisation rose to $18.34 billion in the second quarter of 2026, its highest quarterly stage since Q3 2011, pushed by companies and monetary funds slightly than merchandise imports.
This is in line with the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) Q2 2026 FX Market Update, which attracts on information from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Total FX utilisation elevated 12.84% from roughly $16.25 billion in Q1 2026 and 52.42% from $12.03 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Financial Services Dominate FX Demand:
Invisible-related transactions, masking companies and monetary funds, accounted for the biggest share of FX utilisation throughout the quarter. Demand in this class reached a file $13.24 billion, representing 72.19% of the overall and a rise of 93.16% from $6.85 billion a 12 months earlier.
Merchandise imports accounted for $5.10 billion, down 1.49% 12 months on 12 months, highlighting the rising contribution of monetary and companies transactions to general FX demand.
- Financial companies utilised $9.64 billion, or 52.58% of complete FX demand, up 72.81% from $5.58 billion in Q2 2025.
- Business companies demand elevated 191.39% to $1.66 billion, whereas different companies rose 118.66% to $1.12 billion.
- Industrial imports declined 22.67% to $1.86 billion, whereas oil imports fell 9.75% to $1.25 billion.
- Manufactured merchandise demand elevated 77.73% to $982.09 million, whereas food-related utilisation rose 26.20% to $649.99 million.
- Financial companies alone accounted for nearly 1.9 instances the overseas alternate utilised for all merchandise imports mixed.
FMDA linked the power in financial-services demand to cross-border funding and cost flows, though the report didn’t present an in depth breakdown of the $9.64 billion.
The determine ought to due to this fact not be interpreted solely as confirmed funding repatriation or capital flight, whereas the report additionally recognized $542.56 million in unallocated invisible demand as a result of the June figures didn’t absolutely reconcile.
Autonomous inflows dominate FX provide:
Nigeria’s overseas alternate inflows grew to become extra reliant on autonomous sources throughout the second quarter, whereas CBN greenback gross sales declined sharply. Autonomous inflows elevated to $23.31 billion, their highest stage since Q1 2020, and accounted for 74.15% of complete inflows.
- This represented the best autonomous influx share in 13 years, in contrast with roughly 64% of complete inflows recorded all through 2025.
- CBN FX gross sales fell 66.73% to $418.08 million from $1.26 billion in Q1 2026.
- First-half CBN greenback gross sales totalled $1.67 billion, the bottom for any half-year interval since FMDA’s data started in 2008.
- Total FX inflows declined 2.96% to $31.43 billion, whereas CBN-sourced inflows fell 20.44% to $8.12 billion.
- Total FX outflows decreased 19.22% to $8.93 billion, lifting internet FX flows to $22.50 billion, their highest stage since This autumn 2019.
- First-half internet FX flows reached $43.84 billion, representing a 47.24% enhance from the corresponding interval of 2025.
- The figures point out that autonomous sources provided almost three-quarters of complete inflows throughout the quarter, whilst general inflows declined from Q1.
However, internet FX flows characterize the distinction between reported inflows and outflows and shouldn’t be interpreted as an equal enhance in Nigeria’s exterior reserves.
Financial funds reshape FX demand:
The newest figures prolong a sample already evident in Nigeria’s overseas alternate market throughout 2025, when companies and monetary transactions accounted for a bigger share of utilisation than merchandise imports.
- Nairametrics beforehand reported that complete FX utilisation increased 91.1% to $50.93 billion in 2025, its highest annual stage since 2019.
- Invisible transactions accounted for $30.99 billion of FX utilisation in 2025, in contrast with $19.94 billion allotted to imports.
- Total FX inflows reached $109.9 billion in 2025, in line with figures beforehand reported by Nairametrics.
- Autonomous inflows elevated 25.12% to $70.54 billion in 2025, representing 64.21% of complete inflows.
- The autonomous influx share subsequently elevated to 74.15% in Q2 2026, whereas monetary companies accounted for 52.58% of FX utilisation.
FX utilisation measures overseas alternate utilized by the transaction class, whereas internet flows measure the distinction between reported inflows and outflows.
