RismadarVoice Reporters
September 16, 2026
Trading activity in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market rose sharply in the week ended September 11, with combined turnover in the FX spot and derivatives segments reaching $3.39 billion, according to data from FMDQ Securities Exchange.
The figure was up 40.45 per cent week on week, or an additional $976.79 million, compared with the $2.41485 billion recorded in the preceding week ended September 4.
The latest increase was driven by growth in both spot transactions and derivatives, although the derivatives segment recorded expandednouncesharplyata showed that. FX spot transactions rose to $2.96365 billion during the review week, compared with $2.34420 billion previously. This represented a 26.42 per cent increase.
FX derivatives turnover, meanwhile, jumped by 505.79 per cent, rising from about $70.65 million in the previous week to $427.99 million.1
The derivatives increase was largely attributed to activity in FX forwards, which enable market participants to agree on an exchange rate for currency transactions to be settled at a future date.
The sharp rise in forward transactions indicates increased activity in instruments used by businesses and financial-market participants to manage exposure to movements in the naira-dollar exchange rate. However, the weekly figures alone do not establish the specific reasons for individual transactions.
Despite the surge in derivatives, spot transactions remained the dominant component of Nigeria’s official FX market activity, accounting for the bulk of the total turnover during the week.
The latest figures continue a broader pattern of substantial fluctuations in Nigeria’s FX trading volumes throughout 2026. FMDQ’s market-turnover reports cover trades executed among dealing members, their clients and the Central Bank of Nigeria, providing a measure of activity across the organised market.
The increase in derivatives activity is particularly notable because the segment has remained considerably smaller than the spot market. Earlier in the year, for example, derivatives represented only a small portion of weekly FX turnover, even when spot-market activity was also increasing.
The latest data therefore point to stronger demand for both immediate foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts during the week under review.
Market participants will be watching subsequent weekly figures to determine whether the sharp increase in derivatives activity is sustained or reflects a concentration of large transactions during the reporting period.
FMDQ said its market-turnover data are compiled from weekly trade submissions by dealing members and cover transactions across the financial-market products traded on its platform.
