Naira closes flat at official market as dollar sales decline by 17.84%

The naira, Nigeria’s currency on Wednesday closed on a flat note with a marginal loss of 0.02 percent at the official foreign exchange (FX) market, following a decline in the dollar sales by market operators.

At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), FX trading resumed on Wednesday after a two-day holiday declared by the Federal Government. Consequently, after trading on Wednesday, the dollar was quoted at N1,483.02, slightly weaker than N1,482.72 quoted on Friday before the holidays.

This is despite increased FX inflow recorded in one month. About $5.95 billion inflows from the World Bank and Afreximbank entered into the Nigerian economy.

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According to the data released by FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, the dollar sales by willing buyers and willing sellers declined by 17.84 percent to $150.73 million on Wednesday from $183.47 million recorded on Friday before the festive holidays.

The intraday high closed at N1,514.82 per dollar on Wednesday, weaker than N1,490/$ closed on Friday, while the intraday low steadied at N1,390 per dollar.

The naira, traded flat at N1,490 on the parallel market, popularly called the black market. When compared to last week’s rate of N1,495, the naira recorded a marginal gain of 0.33 percent per dollar on the black market.

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.