The naira ended the week broadly stable across foreign exchange (FX) market segments amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) reset of its benchmark interest rate, as stronger external buffers continue to support the local currency.
Data published by the CBN showed that the naira appreciated marginally by N1.69 week-on-week as the dollar was quoted at N1,329.51 on Friday, compared with N1,331.20 quoted on Friday last week at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
On a day-on-day basis, the local currency weakened slightly by 84 kobo from N1,328.67 quoted on Thursday. Over the five trading days, however, the naira strengthened marginally by 29 kobo from N1,329.80 on Monday.
In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the local currency steadied at N1,385 per dollar. The gap between the official and parallel market rates narrowed slightly to N56, or 4.21 percent, on Friday from N57, or 4.29 percent, on the previous day.
Activity moderated in the week under review, with total turnover at the interbank segment of the FX market standing at $711.79 million on Friday. This compared with cumulative turnover of $2.74 billion recorded over the five trading days of the previous week.
Although the NFEM figures for the full week were not available as of the time of reporting, total turnover for the four trading days this week stood at $2.25 billion, while the updated figure for the five trading days last week was $2.74 billion. The number of deals stood at 1,351 in the four trading days this week, compared with 1,498 deals recorded over five trading days last week.
Nigeria’s external reserves, which give the CBN the firepower to support the naira and meet external obligations, have maintained a steady growth trajectory, rising to an 18-year high of $54.86 billion as of September 24, 2026.
This represented a 30 percent increase from the $42.29 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, according to data published on the CBN website.