Nigeria foreign exchange utilisation rose to 18.34 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2026, its highest quarterly level since the third quarter of 2011.

This was disclosed in the Financial Markets Dealers Association Q2 2026 Foreign Exchange Market Update, which draws on data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Total utilisation increased by 12.84 percent from approximately 16.25 billion dollars recorded in the first quarter of 2026 and by 52.42 percent from 12.03 billion dollars recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

Financial services dominated demand, absorbing 9.64 billion dollars and representing 52.58 percent of total utilisation. The figure represents a 72.81 percent increase from 5.58 billion dollars recorded in the second quarter of 2025.

Invisible transactions, covering services and financial payments outside merchandise imports, accounted for 13.24 billion dollars, representing 72.19 percent of total utilisation. The amount was 93.16 percent higher than the 6.85 billion dollars recorded in the same period of last year.

Business services utilisation increased by 191.39 percent to 1.66 billion dollars from 570.41 million dollars a year earlier, while demand for other services rose by 118.66 percent to 1.12 billion dollars.

In contrast, import related utilisation declined by 1.49 percent to 5.10 billion dollars. Industrial imports fell by 22.67 percent to 1.86 billion dollars and oil imports declined by 9.75 percent to 1.25 billion dollars, while manufactured products and food related imports recorded increases.

The report showed a growing concentration of foreign exchange demand in services and financial transactions rather than merchandise imports, while supply became more reliant on autonomous inflows.