Nigeria’s naira strengthened slightly against the US dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Thursday, trading at about 1,373.99 naira per dollar, according to the latest available Central Bank of Nigeria data, as the currency continued to hold within a relatively narrow band in recent sessions.
In the parallel market, the dollar changed hands at around 1,410 naira, leaving a gap of roughly 36 naira between the official and unofficial rates, a premium that traders say continues to reflect steady demand for foreign currency outside official channels.
The naira has swung within a fairly tight range over the past week, having weakened to 1,375.75 per dollar on Tuesday from 1,368.27 on Monday, before firming again by Thursday. Nigeria’s external reserves have continued to climb over the same period, reaching about 51.58 billion dollars as of July 6, up more than 32% from a year earlier, giving the central bank added capacity to defend the currency.
Analysts say the naira’s near-term trajectory will keep hinging on dollar liquidity, crude oil export earnings, foreign portfolio inflows, diaspora remittances and the CBN’s continued policy interventions, with any sharp drop in inflows or spike in demand carrying the potential to pressure the exchange rate in the weeks ahead.
