Market News

By Oluwakemi Abimbola

The naira strengthened to 1,531.57/$ on Friday on the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, indicating a 0.23 per cent appreciation from the previous week, when it traded at 1,531.57/$.

On a month-on-month basis, the naira appreciated 0.13 per cent from 1,533.55/$ at the end of July. This performance showed that it moved back from the negative territory that it ended July in. The naira closed out July 2025 at 1,533.55/$ at the official market, which is about 0.25 per cent weaker than the 1,529.71/$ that it had closed in June.

Also in August, the external reserves hit $41.00bn and have consistently risen since then to close at $41.27bn as of Friday.

Analysts at Cowry Assets Management in their weekly report acknowledged the stronger performance of the naira in the past week.

“The local currency appreciated 0.23 per cent on a week-on-week basis, closing at 1,531.57/$, supported by improved market liquidity and sustained dollar inflows. Similarly, the parallel market reflected a marginal gain, with the naira strengthening 0.37 per cent week-on-week to settle at an average of 1,538.33/$.

This parallel market uptick highlights renewed confidence among traders, as well as moderated speculative pressures within the informal segment,” the analysts said.

Looking ahead to the new week, the experts estimate that the naira would trade largely stable at the official window, supported by Central Bank of Nigeria interventions and modest FX inflows, “though rising demand and a stronger U.S. dollar could limit further gains.

Parallel market rates should see modest appreciations barring speculative pressures or liquidity tightening.”

AIICO Capital, in its review of the FX market in the past week, stated that liquidity flows and CBN interventions dominated.

“Trading opened with heightened dollar demand, pushing rates to 1540/$ before the CBN intervened, selling about $70m across sessions to restore calm. Midweek, improved supply and steady interventions anchored the market within the 1525–1538/$ band, keeping volatility contained.

“By week’s end, the naira firmed slightly on stronger dollar supply and moderated demand, closing at 1531.57/$, down 22.6 bps w/w.”

The experts maintained that the naira is likely to maintain its current trading range in the new week.

This aligned with the projection of PwC in its Economic Outlook, “The naira is expected to remain broadly stable through 2025, underpinned by ongoing CBN reforms and improved portfolio inflows.”