The naira closed the four-day trading week with N14.98 gain in the official foreign exchange (FX) market following sustained liquidity.
After trading on Friday, the naira appreciated by 1.02 percent week-on-week as the dollar was quoted at N1,465.67 compared to N1,480.65 quoted last week Friday at NFEM according to data from the CBN.
The CBN data showed that the naira witnessed a 0.7 percent or N10.67 for the four-day trading week to N1,465.67 on Friday from N1,476.34 closed on Monday at NFEM.
On a day-on-day trading account, the naira depreciated by 0.7 percent to N1,465.67 on Friday, down by N10.44 compared to N1,455.23 traded on Thursday at the NFEM, CBN data indicated.
The local currency strengthened by N35 or 2.4 percent week-on-week to close at N1,460 per dollar on Friday up from N1,495/$1 on Friday last week in the parallel market also known as the black market.
Daily, the naira weakened by N5 on Friday to N1,460 as against N1,455 closed on Thursday in the black market.
Nigeria’s external reserves rose 2.2 percent month-on-month to $42.35 as of September 30, 2025, up from $41.42 recorded at the beginning of the month, data from the CBN indicated.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN has said that recent reforms in the foreign exchange market have helped restore investor confidence and boost the country’s external reserves, which now stand at over $42 billion.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the CBN’s lecture series at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Cardoso said “on foreign exchange, we introduced a willing buyer, willing seller framework and unified the multiple exchange rate windows. We also cleared the backlog of verifiable foreign exchange commitments, which has helped restore market confidence.”
He added that the Bank has taken deliberate steps to attract diaspora inflows and investment, “we created new channels to facilitate diaspora remittances and encourage investment, most notably through the Non-Resident Nigerian (NRN) platform, which enables Nigerians abroad to open bank accounts seamlessly from anywhere in the world.”
Cardoso emphasised that these reforms are part of a broader strategy to strengthen the economy and ensure long-term stability in the financial markets.
Yemi Kale, Group chief economist and managing director of Afreximbank, said the introduction of a more flexible exchange rate regime acts as a natural shock absorber, allowing the currency to adjust gradually to fluctuations in oil prices or global economic conditions, rather than triggering sudden crises in the balance of payments.
