Naira crosses 1600 mark, appreciates to 1,590 to dollar in black market

The naira on Wednesday appreciated to N1,590 per dollar, crossing the N1,600 psychological point in the black market.

Compared with the past month, the naira has gained 4.7 percent, rising by N75 from N1,665 traded at the beginning of the year in the parallel market, popularly called black market.

On Tuesday, the local currency closed flat at an average rate of N1,600 per dollar as against N1,599.33 quoted on Monday, at the black market.

Read also: Naira closes flat across FX market as CBN extends dollar access to BDCs

At the official foreign exchange (FX) market, the naira steadied at N1,499 per dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the official FX platform of Africa’s fourth largest economy, data from the CBN showed.

Currency dealers attributed the naira appreciation to improved dollar supply and moderation in demand for the greenback, following Central Bank’s policies.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said, “notably the increased capital flows and relative stability in the foreign exchange market, alongside the narrowing of exchange rate disparities across different market segments, has been largely due to the bold tightening measures since the beginning of the year.

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.