Naira hits all-time low of N993.82 per dollar at official market

Naira fell to all-time low of N993.82 per dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), Nigeria’s official foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, following low dollar inflow.

After trading on Monday, naira depreciated significantly by 25.81 percent as one dollar was quoted at the rate of N993.82, which was weaker than N789.94 quoted on Friday, at the official market, data from the FMDQ indicated.

The FX market recorded low dollar supply as the daily foreign exchange market turnover declined by 66.01 percent (N171.53) to $88.31 million on Monday from $259.84 million recorded on Friday.

Nigeria is making plans to introduce a rash of policies, including a crackdown on illegal currency trading, as it seeks to close the more-than-45 percent gap with the unofficial exchange rate of the naira with the hope of a “fair price” of seven hundred and fifty Naira to the dollar by year-end, a top official told Bloomberg.

Related News

Naira on Monday gained further by 2.5 percent as the dollar fell to N1,170 on the parallel market, also called black market. During the trading session on Monday, the dollar was quoted at N1,170, which was stronger than N1,200 quoted on Friday.

Before strengthening to N1,200 per dollar on Friday, naira had early last week hit a record low of N1,310 per dollar following strong demand on the parallel market, also known as black market.

Traders attributed the naira appreciation to some government announced policies, which has put speculators into an uncertain state.

The Federal Government is also making plans to digitalise FX transactions and discourage speculative demands and hoarding of FX in cash.

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.