Naira closes steady at official market after CBN sells dollars, gains N5 on black market

The pressure on the foreign exchange (FX) market mellowed on Tuesday as the naira closed steady at the official market after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold some dollars in the market.

The naira traded near its strongest level in over a month as Nigeria’s central bank stepped into the foreign exchange market to sell dollars.

After trading on Tuesday, the dollar was quoted at N1,339.33, the same rate it closed on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), according to the market summary released by the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.

The intraday trade closed at N1,506 per dollar on Tuesday, marginally weaker than N1,501 closed on Monday. The intraday low appreciated to N1,150 on Tuesday as against N1,310/$1 quoted on Monday.

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Dollar supplied by willing buyers and willing sellers increased significantly by 81.59 percent to $328.32 million on Tuesday from $180.80 million recorded on Monday.

The naira appreciated on the parallel market, known as the black market, gaining N5 as the dollar was quoted at N1,515 on Tuesday as against N1,520 quoted on Monday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria sharply increased capital requirements for the nation’s Bureau De Change (BDCs), citing the need to regulate the sector and ensure it isn’t undermining the value of the local currency.

Olayemi Cardoso, CBN Governor, recently highlighted the need for transparency and confidence in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market; says investors have renewed interest in the Nigerian foreign exchange following the apex bank’s reforms

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.