RFA Breakfast Paper - October 20, 2026
CBN Spot FX Sales Total $1.64bn in H1’26
The Central Bank of Nigeria sold $1.64 billion of foreign exchange through the spot market in the first half of 2026, according to its Q2 2026 Statistical Bulletin. Sales peaked in March, when the Bank sold $950.1 million, about 58% of the half-year total; in every other month sales stayed below $226 million, rising from $53 million in January to $159.57 million in June. The pace is well below 2025, when spot sales reached $8.20 billion for the full year. The lighter intervention coincided with stronger private inflows: portfolio investment rose 45% to $6.51 billion in Q2, while financial services absorbed $9.64 billion, or 52.58%, of the quarter's $18.34 billion FX utilization. For investors, episodic rather than continuous CBN selling points to a market increasingly cleared by private flows, which supports naira stability while risk appetite holds but leaves the currency more exposed to a reversal in portfolio capital.
Broad Rally Lifts Dow 1.02%, Nasdaq Flat
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as the rally broadened beyond megacaptechnology. The S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 7,712.57 and the Dow added 1.02%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.02% as chip-equipment names fell ahead of megacap earnings. The Russell 2000 led with a 1.65% gain. Weak housing data, with September starts down 5.2% and pending home sales at a record low, pulled Treasury yields lower and lifted health care, real estate and utilities. Earnings beats from 3M and Northrop Grumman supported the Dow.
Industrials Lift NGX 0.26% as Banks Slip
The NGX All-Share Index rose 0.26% to 245,911.13 on Tuesday, recovering part of Monday's 0.91% fall, as market capitalisationgained ₦410.86 billion to ₦159.67 trillion. Breadth was positive at 28 gainers to 21 losers. The Industrial Index led, rising 118.44 points to 10,258.95 on demand for HBM Nigeria (+6.76% to ₦379.00), while NASCON (+7.31%) and Unilever Nigeria (+5.83%) lifted Consumer Goods. Profit-taking in lenders left the Banking Index 0.15% lower at 2,493.34, with Sterling (-2.66%), Access (-0.54%), GTCO (-0.41%) and Zenith (-0.40%) down. Volume was flat at 348.69m shares, but deals fell 24.42% to 32,588, pointing to a cautious rebound.
