Naira Recovers Against US Dollar in Official, Unofficial Markets

• The naira has improved against the United States dollar in both the official foreign exchange markets
• In the black market, the Nigerian currency also improved against the US dollar but remains above the N1,500 mark
• The recent recovery of Nigerian currency is thanks to the improvement of liquidity after the CBN's intervention

The Naira recovered some of its lost value against the US dollar in the official and unofficial foreign exchange markets.

Data showed that at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the naira closed at N1,538.26/$ on Friday, March 28

This represented a 65 Kobo or 0.04% appreciation on the dollar compared to the closing rate of N1,538.26/$1 the previous day.

The improvement of the naira in the official market followed the Central Bank of Nigeria liquidity boost in the market.

It was however a different performance for the naira against the British Pound Sterling and the euro in the official market.

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Naira appreciates against dollar in official, black markets after 4-day decline

CBN data showed that the naira lost against the British pound sterling in the official market on Friday by N1.00 to sell for N1,991.87/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,990.87/£1.

While against the euro, it declined by N1.40 to quote at N1,660.99/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s value of N1,659.59/€1.

Naira exchange rate against other currencies

• CFA - N2.53
• Yuan/Renminbi - N211.51
• Danish krona - N222.58
• Euro - N1,660.99
• Yen - N10.20
• Riyal - N409.70
• South African rand - N84.68
• Swiss franc - N1,741.83
• Pounds sterling - N1,991.87

Naira to unofficial market

The naira also improved against the US dollar at the parallel market, popularly called the black market

Abdullahi a BDC trader told Legit.ng:

"Due to the public holiday, there was not much activity, so the naira was priced N10 higher compared to the previous trading day.

"We sold the dollar at N1,545/$1, compared to the preceding trading day’s value of N1,555/$1."

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Ealier, analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited had predicted that the naira would maintain a positive performance in March

The investment company said:

"We expect the naira to sustain its positive performance across FX segments, driven by the CBN’s continued dollar supply to Bureau De Change (BDCs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), as long as there are no adverse market shocks.'

Aloysius Uche Ordu, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), recently said that the appreciation of the naira and improvements in Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.

“The naira appreciated by 13.6 percent against the US dollar between November 2024 and January 2025, reflecting improved foreign exchange inflows and effective monetary policies.

“This appreciation is attributed to higher oil revenue, increased remittances, and foreign investment inflows, as well as enhanced exchange rate management by the CBN.”

Dollar supply in FX market rises

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian foreign exchange market experienced increased forex turnover of about 226%.

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Naira trades at new rate at NFEM as CBN issues stern warning to currency speculators

The development comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said Nigeria’s FX reserves hit a three-year high of $40.88 billion.

Also, the apex bank asked Nigerians to report banks that fail to make cash available to customers in ATMs and other channels.

Source: Legit.ng