Naira returns to loss at official market despite dollar sales

The naira on Wednesday returned to loss after gaining for two trading days at the official foreign exchange (FX) market, despite a marginal increase in dollar supply.

After trading on Wednesday, the naira depreciated by 11.72 as the dollar was quoted at the rate of N1,329.65, weaker than N1,173.88 quoted on Tuesday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM), data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, indicated.

Dollar supplied by willing buyers and willing sellers increased marginally by 2.50 percent to $336.54 million on Wednesday from $328.32 million recorded on Tuesday.

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The summary of the FX market trading showed that the intraday high closed unchanged at N1,506 per dollar on Wednesday. The intraday low strengthened to N1,010/$1 on Wednesday as against N1,150 per dollar closed on Tuesday.

At the parallel market, popularly called the black market, the naira appreciated by 2.36 percent (N35/$1) as the dollar traded at N1,480 on Wednesday compared to N1,515 quoted on Tuesday.

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.