Naira Appreciates Against US Dollar in Official Market After CBN Launched NRBVN

• The Nigerian currency has appreciated against the dollar in the official foreign exchange markets
• The Central Bank of Nigeria's new data showed that the naira recorded a slight appreciation in the NAFEM window
• The naira still has a long way to go for stability to occur in the official and unofficial FX markets

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

The Nigerian currency, the naira, has appreciated against the United States dollar in the official market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) ended trading on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at N1,596 per dollar.

Wednesday's exchange rate is a 0.04% depreciation for the naira compared to last Friday's exchange rate of N1,599.7.

Naira against pound, euro

It was a different outcome for the naira against the British pound sterling and the euro.

On Wednesday's forex trading session, the naira experienced a depreciation against major international currencies, continuing recent trends.

At the close of trading, the naira weakened against the pound sterling by N4.08, trading at N2,125.36 per £1.

This represented a decline from Tuesday's rate of N2,118.28 per £1.

Similarly, against the euro, the naira lost N6.56, closing at N1,790.37 per €1 compared to N1,783.87 per €1 on Tuesday.

Naira crashes against dollar at black market

Forex traders confirmed on Wednesday that the naira fell further against the dollar in the parallel market.

Abudulahhi, a trader, told Legit.ng:

"We sold the dollar at N1,630/$1 on Wednesday, compared with the N1,618/$1 it was bought for. The euro traded between N1,795 and N1,810, while the British pound was exchanged at rates ranging from N2,130 to N2,155."

Snapshot of naira rates in official market

Based on CBN published rates, here are the selling rates for the selected currencies as of May 14, 2025

• CFA: N2.71
• Chinese yuan/renminbi: N221.61
• Danish krone: N239.97
• Euro: N1,790.38
• Japanese yen: N10.93
• Saudi riyal: N425.68
• South African rand: N87.42
• Swiss franc: N1,903.55

CBN launches non-resident BVN

Meanwhile, the CBN, in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), has launched the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) platform for Nigerians in diaspora.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, hailed the initiative as a milestone and expressed optimism that it would further boost diaspora remittances.

Forex inflow into Nigeria

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that remittance flows into the Nigerian economy rose by 9% to $20.98 billion, the highest level in five years under the current leadership of Olayemi Cardoso.

The apex bank said the last time remittances exceeded that level was in 2019, when they hit $23.80 billion.

The increase in remittances is good news for the CBN, which is working to ensure adequate foreign exchange availability in the market.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng