The naira yesterday firmed up significantly against the US dollar, gaining 82 kobo at the inter-bank market.
It closed at N157.95/$ compared to N158.77/$ on Friday, data from the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) have shown.
Read also: Naira firms after CBN meets FX demand at auction
Analysts attributed the naira appreciation to inflow from month-end sales by oil companies coupled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention meeting up with the demand for the greenback.
Analysts from Cowry Asset had earlier predicted that naira would strengthen against the US dollar this week on the back of oil companies’ sales to dealing banks in order to meet month-end expenses.
However, the CBN yesterday offered and sold $300 million at its bi-weekly Wholesale Dutch Auction (WDAS) at the rate of N155.75/$.
Get Newsletter Updates
Enjoying our column?
Subscribe to our specialised **Tax 360** feed to receive fresh reports and analyses directly in your inbox.
Hope Moses-Ashike
Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks.
She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings.
Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.
