The naira on Monday appreciated to a record high of ₦1,452.79 per dollar at the official foreign exchange market — its strongest performance since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) in December 2024.
This represents a 14.34 percent gain, or ₦208.33, from the ₦1,661.12 recorded when EFEMS trading began. On a daily basis, the local currency also strengthened by ₦5.16 or 0.4 percent compared to ₦1,457.95 per dollar traded last Friday, according to CBN data.
At the parallel market, the naira traded flat at ₦1,485 per dollar, the same rate as the previous week. A report by Coronation Research indicated that while the official rate appreciated by 1.19 percent week-on-week to ₦1,457.96, the black-market rate weakened slightly by 0.67 percent to ₦1,500 per dollar, narrowing the gap between both markets to ₦14.65 per dollar from ₦42.04 previously.
Foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rose to $1.37 billion last week from $1.10 billion a week earlier. Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the largest share at 33.5 percent ($460 million), followed by exporters, corporates, and the CBN.
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Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves climbed by 0.4 percent to $42.87 billion as of October 24, 2025, driven by higher inflows and lower outflows.
Analysts expect the naira to remain below ₦1,500 per dollar in the near term, supported by improved liquidity and continued participation of foreign investors.
