The Nigerian naira appreciated to N1,455 against the United States dollar in the parallel (informal) foreign exchange market on Wednesday, marking a modest gain from N1,465 per dollar recorded earlier in the week, market data showed. The move reflects a continuation of recent strengthening across currency trading segments in the country.
In the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira also made progress, trading at around N1,367 per dollar up from N1,384.50 previously according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This improvement underscores emerging stability in formal forex trading conditions and a narrowing divergence between official and informal rates.
Foreign exchange analysts attribute the naira’s resilience to improved liquidity conditions, rising foreign exchange inflows, and continued policy interventions by the CBN aimed at supporting market confidence. Movements in external reserves and strategic currency market reforms have also been cited as contributing factors.
Despite the gains, variations between the official and parallel markets persist, with traders noting that structural challenges such as sustained import demand and limited export diversification still exert pressure on the local currency. However, the recent uptick in the naira’s value is viewed by market watchers as a positive signal for broader economic sentiment.
