Monetary amenities accounted for $9.64 billion, representing 52.58% of Nigeria’s general foreign currencies utilisation of $18.34 billion in the second one quarter of 2026, as quarterly FX call for reached its perfect degree since Q3 2011.
That is consistent with the Monetary Markets Sellers Affiliation (FMDA) Q2 2026 FX Marketplace Replace, which attracts on knowledge from the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN).
Overall FX utilisation larger 12.84% from roughly $16.25 billion in Q1 2026 and 52.42% from $12.03 billion within the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Monetary Services and products dominate FX call for:
Invisible transactions, overlaying amenities and fiscal bills relatively than products imports, accounted for the biggest percentage of FX utilisation throughout the quarter. Call for on this class reached a document $13.24 billion, representing 72.19% of general utilisation.
The determine used to be 93.16% upper than the $6.85 billion recorded in Q2 2025, with economic amenities contributing many of the building up.
- Monetary amenities call for rose 72.81% to $9.64 billion from $5.58 billion, an building up of roughly $4.06 billion.
- Industry amenities utilisation larger 191.39% to $1.66 billion from $570.41 million.
- Different amenities call for rose 118.66% to $1.12 billion, whilst import-related call for declined 1.49% to $5.10 billion.
- Business imports fell 22.67% to $1.86 billion and oil imports declined 9.75% to $1.25 billion, whilst manufactured merchandise larger 77.73% to $982.09 million.
FMDA connected the upward push in financial-services call for to cross-border funding and cost flows, even though the document didn’t supply an in depth breakdown of the transactions. Because of this, the $9.64 billion can’t be described only as funding repatriation or capital flight.
The document additionally known $542.56 million in unallocated invisible call for for the reason that June figures didn’t totally reconcile with the reported general.
Independent Inflows dominate FX Provide:
Nigeria’s foreign currencies provide changed into extra reliant on independent resources throughout the quarter, whilst CBN greenback gross sales declined considerably. Independent inflows larger to $23.31 billion, their perfect degree since Q1 2020, and accounted for 74.15% of general FX inflows.
This represented the perfect independent influx percentage in 13 years, in comparison with 68.48% in Q1 2026 and 63.64% in Q2 2025.
- CBN FX gross sales fell 66.73% to $418.08 million from $1.26 billion in Q1 and declined 86.79% from $3.17 billion a yr previous.
- Overall FX inflows lowered 2.96% to $31.43 billion, even though they remained 14.04% upper yr on yr.
- CBN-sourced inflows declined 20.44% to $8.12 billion, whilst general outflows fell 19.22% to $8.93 billion.
- Web FX flows rose to $22.50 billion, their perfect degree since This autumn 2019, whilst first-half internet flows reached $43.84 billion, up 47.24% yr on yr.
Consistent with FMDA, CBN gross sales of $1.67 billion within the first half of of 2026 have been the bottom for any half-year length since its information started in 2008.
CBN outflows declined 35.89% to $4.77 billion, whilst independent outflows larger 15.09% to $4.16 billion.
On the other hand, the $22.50 billion internet FX drift represents the variation between reported inflows and outflows and will have to no longer be interpreted as an similar building up in Nigeria’s exterior reserves.
Nigeria’s FX call for shifts towards Services and products:
The Q2 figures support the rising significance of economic and different amenities transactions in Nigeria’s foreign currencies marketplace. Nairametrics previously reported that total FX demand increased 91% to $50.93 billion in 2025, its perfect degree in six years.
Invisible transactions accounted for $30.99 billion of that quantity, exceeding products import-related call for of $19.94 billion, with economic amenities representing the biggest part of invisible call for.
- Monetary amenities by myself accounted for greater than half of of general FX utilisation in Q2, 2026.
- Invisible transactions represented 72.19% of call for, in comparison with $5.10 billion allotted to imports.
- Independent resources equipped just about three-quarters of general FX inflows throughout the quarter.
Information from the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that Nigeria’s gross external reserves reached $55.07 billion on October 8 up from $54.95 billion on October 2, reflecting persisted expansion within the nation’s exterior buffers.
FMDA corroborates the expansion in overseas reserves in its newest weekly document printed on Monday, October 12, describing it because the perfect degree since December 2008.
FMDA, an trade affiliation representing economic marketplace sellers in Nigeria, compiles knowledge of economic markets transactions. It promotes highest practices, skilled requirements, marketplace building, and collaboration amongst contributors within the nation’s economic markets.