Naira gains strength against dollar in official, parallel markets

The Nigerian naira showed signs of recovery on Wednesday, appreciating against the US dollar across both the official and parallel (black market) foreign exchange markets.

According to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the official exchange rate stood at ₦1,584.49/$1, up from ₦1,590.45/$1 traded on Tuesday. This represents a day-on-day gain of ₦5.96.

In the parallel market, the naira also strengthened, trading at ₦1,625/$1 compared to ₦1,628/$1 the previous day gaining ₦3.

This marks the first time this week that the naira has appreciated across both segments of the forex market, offering a rare moment of optimism for the local currency amid ongoing volatility.

The improvement follows comments made by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso during the conclusion of the apex bank’s 300th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday.

Governor Cardoso expressed confidence in the naira, stating that the Nigerian currency is becoming more stable and that the country boasts a competitive payment system within the West African region.