Naira Appreciates to N1,337 Per Dollar on Stronger Reserve, Positive

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira closed the week stronger against the United States Dollar at N1,337.29/$1 from N1,338.59/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, August 28, indicating a N1.30 or 0.09 per cent gain.

The domestic currency also appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market during the trading day by N4.30 to close at N1,816.04/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,820.34/£1, and improved against the Euro by N3.25 to trade at N1,556.87/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s N1,560.12/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian Naira gained N6 against the US Dollar yesterday to close at N1,346/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,351/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,380/$1.

Total FX turnover fell to $130.69 million from $191.69 million, according to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), reflecting a 31.8 per cent slide in market-maker activity. Equally, the deal count declined to 146 from 176 the previous day.

Nigeria’s gross external reserves have surpassed $53 billion, supported by sustained accretion from multiple sources, including hydrocarbon sales and remittances.

FX inflows continue to flood Nigeria’s financial markets due to attractive yields on fixed-income securities and limited direct bets on the local economy, particularly in manufacturing.

This could be bolstered further as a global index provider, FTSE Russell, reclassified Nigeria’s capital market from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, effective from the opening of trading on September 21, 2026.

Also, Moody’s Ratings revised Nigeria’s credit outlook to positive, citing stronger-than-expected economic growth. The improvements reflect stronger external buffers and greater macroeconomic stability, while rising oil…