Nigeria’s overnight funding market recorded a sharp increase in trading activity in May and sustained the momentum through June, with total traded volume climbing 42.58% to N96.36 trillion in May from N67.58 trillion in April, before rising further by 1.13% to N97.45 trillion in June. An analysis of daily NORF market data between April 13 and July 9, 2026, shows that the Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate (NOFR) remained virtually unchanged at 22.00% throughout the period under review. Despite the stronger market activity, the benchmark overnight funding rate barely moved, closing at exactly 22.00% on 59 of the 62 trading days captured in the data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the close of business on July 9. The average daily market volume also strengthened in May, increasing by 10.9% to N5.35 trillion from N4.83 trillion in April, indicating stronger participation in the overnight market without corresponding pressure on short-term funding costs. What the data is saying:
A breakdown of the NOFR market data reveals stronger liquidity activity but remarkable stability in overnight funding rates.
Total traded volume increased 42.58% month-on-month to N96.36 trillion in May from N67.58 trillion in April, reflecting a significant pickup in overnight market transactions. Activity remained elevated in June, with total monthly volume edging up 1.13% to N97.45 trillion, the highest monthly turnover recorded during the review period. Average daily market volume rose by 10.9% to N5.35 trillion in May, up from N4.83 trillion in April before moderating to about N4.64 trillion in June.
The NOFR, however, remained exceptionally stable with the benchmark settling at exactly 22.00% on 59 trading days. However, the rate edged up only three times—22.04% on April 15, 22.01% on April 16 and 22.02% on April 29. The latest available figures for July 9 show traded volume of N5.02 trillion, transaction rates ranging between 21.00% and 22.00%, while the NOFR closed unchanged at 22.00%. More insights:
The data suggest that stronger market participation did not translate into higher overnight borrowing costs, indicating a well-balanced short-term liquidity environment. Several trading sessions recorded unusually strong activity. May 6 posted the highest daily volume of the review period at N7.32 trillion, followed by May 19 at N6.77 trillion, May 5 at N6.67 trillion and May 26 at N6.57 trillion. April’s busiest session came on April 30 with N6.16 trillion, while June peaked at N5.61 trillion on June 3.
On the downside, July 3 recorded the lowest daily volume at N2.99 trillion, while May 21 and June 8 posted relatively subdued activity at N3.13 trillion and N3.19 trillion, respectively. Although transaction rates varied widely across individual trades—with minimum rates falling as low as 20.00% and maximum rates reaching 32.00% on several occasions—the benchmark NOFR remained anchored around 22.00%. This suggests that isolated transactions executed at higher or lower funding costs had little influence on the weighted overnight benchmark, highlighting stable liquidity conditions across the interbank market. July’s cumulative volume of N28.03 trillion reflects only the first seven trading sessions of the month as the full-month figures will only be released after month’s end. The NOFR data also contains duplicate entries for April 13 and June 2. Monthly volume calculations in this analysis exclude duplicate records.
The latest data points to a notable increase in overnight market activity beginning in May, with volumes remaining elevated through June without triggering meaningful changes in funding costs, allowing banks and other market participants to execute larger volumes of overnight transactions without exerting upward pressure on borrowing rates. What you should know:
The Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate is the benchmark measure of unsecured overnight borrowing costs in the domestic money market and serves as a key indicator of short-term liquidity conditions. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officially introduced the Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate (NOFR) on April 17, 2026, when it announced the new benchmark in collaboration with the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA).
The announcement followed a stakeholder engagement held on February 27, 2026, where market participants formally adopted the benchmark. However, the formal public launch ceremony of NOFR was held later, on June 15, 2026, at the CBN headquarters in Abuja. At the event, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso described NOFR as a key reform aimed at enhancing transparency, improving monetary policy transmission, and aligning Nigeria’s money markets with global benchmark reforms such as SOFR (U.S.), SONIA (U.K.), €STR (Eurozone), and TONA (Japan).
