Forex trading in Nigeria: market review and top online brokers

Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy, and emerging market with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 27th largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, and the 24th largest in terms of purchasing power parity.

The Nigerian economy is one of the largest in Africa. Since the late 1960s, it has been based primarily on the petroleum industry as a series of world oil price increases from 1973 produced rapid economic growth in transportation, construction, manufacturing, and government services. 

They led to a great influx of rural people into the larger urban centers, and agricultural production stagnated to such an extent that cash crops such as palm oil, peanuts (groundnuts), and cotton were no longer significant export commodities. 

Now in Nigeria, there are over 300,000 retail Forex traders, with a significant increase in female traders, with 46% more women registering trading accounts in the last year. This Forex market appeal can be explained by the country’s current development stage: broad digitalization and advancement of knowledge-intensive industries. People are having access to more information and receive a better education, and as a result, are seeking ways to improve their living conditions to international standards.

Nigerians are turning to Forex trading as a new source of income since the Internet and even a simple smartphone may provide them with additional money that is secure and independent of the country’s volatile employment environment.

Popular online trading instruments in Nigeria

Nigeria’s online trading infrastructure, like the rest of the country’s economy, is booming. As one of the continent’s fastest-growing economies, the country is a regional primary market for commodities, currencies, CFDs, and other types of equities.

Traders can have the confidence they need to position themselves in a continuously shifting market environment: trustable international Forex brokers are really keen on increasing their users’ share in the rapidly developing country, so they offer a large selection of instruments, favorable conditions, and advanced trading tools that include Copy Trading, demo, PAMM and MAM accounts, and Forex bonuses.

CFDs trading in Nigeria

With CFDs, users can trade the price fluctuations of those instruments without having to purchase them. Stocks, indices, bonds, commodities, and cryptocurrencies are all available for CFD trading in Nigeria. 

NAGA Markets offers a wide choice of CFD instruments, a trading guide, and all the tools to make trading more effective and secure.  As soon as you register, you get a free demo account with a virtual $10000 balance to explore your opportunities in a risk-free environment.

NAGA is a broker that provides you with advanced, but user-friendly trading tools and introduces you to the trading community at the same time. NAGA’s Autocopy is an innovative feature that lets you automatically copy leading traders on the platform and learn from their experiences.

Commodity trading in Nigeria

The rapid growth in the global demand for commodities seen in recent decades is expected to continue as emerging markets modernize their infrastructure and rising middle classes seek higher-value products in greater quantities.  Gold, platinum group metals, diamonds, coal, zinc, and a variety of other valuable metals are all found in considerable quantities across the African continent. They account for a significant portion of the county’s trade volumes, both in the traditional export market and in online brokerage trading.

HF Markets is a reputable international broker with a presence in over 180 countries, 27 languages supported, and over 2.5 million active accounts. It offers online Forex and CFD trading on commodities, gold, silver, indices, and other instruments.

HF Markets is an excellent choice to diversify a trading portfolio, as the broker provides some of the greatest gold trading conditions. It also gives traders the narrowest spreads with no hidden fees, as well as bonuses for the first deposit of up to $5000 or a cumulative bonus and rebates on trader deals of up to $8000.

To present its services internationally, HF Markets is following the standards of multiple reputable global regulators. Their list includes the FCA of the United Kingdom and the FCSA – the most authoritative regulator of the African continent.

Forex currency pairs trading in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the most popular currency pairs to trade are the following three: 

The EUR/USD currency pair, which includes the currencies of the world’s two major economies, is the most popular in the Forex market. Because of its high liquidity, this pair is less volatile than others. 

USD/JPY is behind the USD, Euro, and GBP, the Japanese yen is increasingly commonly regarded as a reserve currency. Although the Japanese yen has a high level of volatility, the Bank of Japan frequently buys and sells substantial amounts of the currency to keep it under control.

USD/CAD values are inextricably linked. Commodity prices have an impact on the Canadian dollar when it comes to the correlation. Because this country’s economy is based on crude oil exports, fluctuations in oil prices, for example, can have a substantial impact on the value of the CAD.

XM Group gives you the opportunity to trade more than 50 currency pairs, including not only the most popular in Nigeria but also many exotic ones. 

Except for currencies, the broker has more than 1000 financial instruments, including stocks, equity indices, commodities, precious metals, and other instruments with some of the most reliable and fastest order execution available on the MT4/MT5 platforms.

Forex market in Nigeria

Forex trading in Nigeria is becoming increasingly popular for investment and as such the process has gradually become easier over the past decade. This is largely due to the country’s positive economic growth and the increased disposable income amongst the Nigerian middle class.

Nigeria is one of the most prosperous countries in Africa, and it is believed that Nigerian Forex traders trade positions worth at least $1.25 million on average every day.

Some of the most reputable international brokers we mention in this guide are welcoming Nigerian traders in registering an account on their platform, allowing beginners and experts to connect to global markets.

FXTM is the international broker that has been one of the first to establish a serious presence in Nigeria and offers access to the financial markets to investors throughout the country and the wider African continent. For a more localized experience, it offers a Naira account — exclusively for Nigerian citizens. With it traders can: 

• Trade currency pairs and price movements of commodities, indices, and shares in Naira; 
• Fund accounts with local Nigerian bank wires, or via internal transfers; 
• Enjoy low deposits and instant withdrawals without the conversion fees; 
• Make deposits and withdrawals in Naira via local banks.

Moreover, as traders in new emerging markets, FXTM definitely can help to build trading skills with their free educational resources. The broker provides learner-friendly, easy-to-read manuals and introductions for beginners and intermediates alike. 

More experienced traders may also benefit from trading guides if they’d like to refresh their knowledge. The list of available resources includes guides, e-books, webinars, and videos. 

Moreover, FXTM offers multiple investment opportunities, attractive trading conditions as well as helpful trading tools and features, Copy Trading being the main one. It gives you a chance to make a profit by automatically copying the deals of more experienced traders whom you follow on the trading platform just as you do with any other social media.

Why is Forex trading so popular in Nigeria?

In the 1970s, when the price of crude oil rose dramatically, Forex trading became popular in Nigeria. The country has evolved and grown enormously since then, and it is now one of Africa’s fastest-growing Forex trading nations.

Despite the fact that Nigeria is Africa’s greatest economy, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has left many people unemployed.

As these newly unemployed Nigerians looked for new ways to make money, many have turned to Forex trading, which is the world’s most liquid market, with more than $6 trillion exchanged daily.

One of the most appealing elements of the Forex market is that it: 

• Provides major chances for both rookie and professional traders; 
• Gives traders control over their own finances; 
• Is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

International top Forex brokers offer educational resources as well as round-the-clock support to help traders make trading decisions that optimize profits while minimizing risks.

Forex trading in Nigeria can provide a reliable source of income while also significantly improving traders’ financial status. People used to believe that getting into trading would take a lot of time, effort, and knowledge, but that has all changed since the introduction of Copy Trading.

Of course, if you put in the time and effort to learn and perfect the necessary discipline and knowledge, the long-term benefits will be well worth it. Copy Trading, on the other hand, made things a lot easier. 

You may use the tool to follow professional traders and automatically replicate their trading decisions, just like you would on any other social networking platform. Profits made are yours to keep, and you can also learn from successful traders by studying their moves and developing your own trading techniques.

NAGA Markets, a trustful broker that originated from Germany, is in the market to introduce users to all possible benefits of Copy Trading. NAGA Autocopy is an innovative feature that lets you automatically copy leading traders on the platform and learn from their experiences.

Moreover, it offers a wide choice of trade instruments and educational materials to make trading more effective and secure. The last point is guaranteed by several reputable regulative bodies, those rules NAGA has to follow such as FCA and CySEC.

Forex market management in Nigeria

Forex trading is completely legal in Nigeria, provided that both trader and broker follow regulations and guidelines that govern the industry, avoiding intentional fraud activities. 

Forex trading in Nigeria is not severely regulated. This could be partly attributed to the fact that it is still a relatively new phenomenon that is growing rapidly popular among citizens.

The Central Bank regulates Forex trading in Nigeria, and brokers have to meet international safety criteria in order to trade on behalf of their clients. Moreover, profits from trading activities are taxed in the country and must be declared in accordance with the law.

International Forex brokers we recommend in this article have years on the market and millions of clients around the world to speak for their credibility. Also, they are authorized not by only one, but two or more international regulators. For example, Forex brokers like XM Group, NAGA Markets, or HF Markets we mentioned above, each comply with more than 4 (!) credible global authorities.

Cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria

Nigeria has issued little guidance on Cryptocurrencies other than to warn the public of its risks. According to the official website of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legal tender, meaning that the Central bank does not regulate their operations. However, this fact doesn’t make Cryptocurrency illegal per se: the public is advised to exercise caution when dealing with digital assets.

According to financial analytical resources, more than $33 billion worth of Bitcoin is traded daily around the world. And even if the Cryptocurrency market in Nigeria is relatively new, now it is rapidly expanding. One of the reasons for that popularity is that Cryptocurrency works on decentralized assets, and things like interest rate changes and political instability do not affect them as much as, for example, traditional commodities markets.

Due to a large young population in Nigeria with growing income levels and widespread adaptation of online technology, Cryptocurrency trading volume is increasing greatly.

AvaTrade offers Nigerians the opportunity to trade not only the most popular Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, or Litecoin but also more exotic kinds. And even trading these relatively new assets, traders can be assured of their safety, since the broker is regulated by six of the most recognized regulatory bodies in the world, including ASIC and CySEC. 

With AvaTrade users have access to a comprehensive range of tradable assets, including Forex pairs, equities, commodities, and Cryptocurrencies, available on a variety of trading platforms for both manual and automated trading, across multiple device types.

AvaTrade also offers AvaCopy, which allows you to generate passive income by automatically following the actions of more experienced traders. The combination of AvaTrade’s global reputation and technologically advanced systems provides traders with the peace of mind that their trades and capital are in the hands of some top traders in the world.

Top Forex Brokers in Nigeria

Nigeria is confidently popularizing Forex trading and most Forex brokers offer a variety of currency pairs and other instruments including popular Crypto coins for trading.

Brokers our experts’ list below offer Nigerians trading conditions with low minimum deposit requirements, tight spreads, low commissions, a wide range of tradable instruments, Crypto trading, Copy Trading, and Forex bonuses up to $5000 on the first deposit. Local traders can use a wide range of trading strategies when dealing with these brokers, and they are provided with demo accounts, negative balance protection, popular trading platforms, and a choice in retail investor account types.

XM Group in Nigeria

XM Group has a high level of trust among traders from all over the world and is licensed by four financial regulators, among them FCA, ASIC, CySEC, and IFSC. XM Group pays special attention to the traders’ education and provides various training and informational materials such as videos with market analysis, Forex news, a calendar of economic events, etc. 

Opening an account with an XM broker takes just a few minutes. Immediately after the account verification, you can start trading on the most liquid markets in the world. 

The company offers 75 tradable instruments for work, and each of them offers tight spreads and the same trading conditions, regardless of the client’s investment level. New traders receive an automatic bonus equal to 100% of their deposit, as part of this program, the bonus can be up to $5000.

NAGA Markets in Nigeria

NAGA is a trustful broker that originated from Germany, with a great range of trading instruments and a very competitive, but friendly social trading environment. By registering, you benefit from over 950 markets, including ETFs, Forex, commodities, crypto CFDs, a wide range of professional tools, and educational materials for traders of any level.

Together with more than a million users, you can trade and invest, learn from them and automatically copy the best traders or become a trading pro yourself. As one, you’ll get a chance to earn extra income and a largely reduced commission. Or as a trading newbie, you can highly benefit from auto-copying the most successful traders in real-time: make money and learn at the same time.

HF Markets in Nigeria

HF Markets is a well-known trustable Forex broker that offers services to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.  When they trade with the broker, users may anticipate a wide selection of tradable instruments, minimal trading fees, user-friendly trading platforms, educational content, and advanced trading tools. 

HF Markets also offers a powerful solution to trade CFDs and Forex, also with costs built into the tight spread. Being a fully regulated broker in various jurisdictions, HF Markets maintains safe trading capabilities and delivers various solutions including Zero Spread trading, Islamic Accounts, and cumulative Forex bonuses up to $8000.

Nigerians are able to benefit from price fluctuations on more than 1200 instruments.

AvaTrade in Nigeria

AvaTrade is one of the most popular forex brokers in the world, offering very competitive trading conditions. It is a broker well-regulated by several reputable entities including FSCA, ASIC and CySEC. 

AvaTrade offers its clients more than 1250 financial instruments, including Forex, stocks, bonds, indices, Cryptocurrencies that can be traded through multiple powerful, reliable trading platforms together with 24/7 multilingual support all over the globe. 

FXTM in Nigeria

FXTM is the international broker that has been one of the first to establish a serious presence in Nigeria, and now offers access to the financial markets to investors throughout the country and the wider African continent. It provides an extensive educational base, investment opportunities, and attractive trading conditions. Moreover, it offers interesting trading tools and features, CopyTrading being the main one.

Another point that speaks for the credibility of these regulated international brokers is that they give you an opportunity to try out their platforms and tools before you actually start trading: opening a demo account with each of them is completely free. You can register with several of them just to see how suitable and user-friendly they are for your trading needs. 

Moreover, it is a great strategy to manage risks by diversifying a trading portfolio. It will help compare trading platforms to pick the best one for you, but also make the most of the benefits you’d receive. For example, you could use them to fund your market research: put your trading techniques to the test with these bonuses.

You can also trade on your own with some brokers while using the Copy Trading feature with others. It will inspire you to keep trading and improve your chances of earning some passive income.