Naira rises for third straight session to close at ₦1,346.91/$

The naira strengthened for the third consecutive trading session at the official market on Thursday, October 29, 2026, closing at ₦1,346.9108 per dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market. The close compared with ₦1,347.5259 on Wednesday, a gain of about 0.05%.

The move came after the Central Bank of Nigeria sold $500 million to commercial banks during the week to improve dollar liquidity and ease pressure on the currency. The intervention followed a slide to around ₦1,367 per dollar earlier in the week.

Official market trading

During Thursday's session, the dollar traded between ₦1,343.50 and ₦1,363.50 at NFEM. The naira's closing gain came even as trading activity fell sharply.

CBN data showed interbank dollar turnover dropped to $54.051 million from $244.068 million on Wednesday. That was a decline of about 77.9%. The number of transactions fell to 74 from 151.

Parallel market diverges

The parallel market moved the other way. Bureau de Change operators quoted the dollar at about ₦1,390, compared with ₦1,385 previously, a depreciation of 0.36%. The gap between the official and unofficial rates widened.

The pound declined to ₦1,790.86 at NFEM, while the euro fell to ₦1,500.34. Both currencies gained against the naira in the parallel market.

Reserves dip

Nigeria's gross external reserves recorded their first decline in about two months. CBN data showed reserves slipped to $55.257 billion from $55.264 billion, a marginal fall of $7 million. The drop coincided with the latest dollar intervention, though the figures alone do not show how much of the movement came from the sales.

On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, the naira had strengthened across the official and parallel markets. In the parallel market, it appreciated by N2 to close at ₦1,378/$1 from ₦1,380/$1 in the previous session.

For importers and consumers, the official gain offers modest relief, but the wider parallel-market rate and lower turnover show that dollar liquidity remains tight. The reserves dip also leaves little room for complacency as October ends.