Naira hits two-month low against dollar despite rising liquidity and reserves
By Aboki Forex —
The naira weakened to a two-month low against the dollar in the official foreign exchange market on Wednesday. This happened even as market liquidity improved and Nigeria's external reserves continued to climb.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed the naira depreciated by N9.44. The dollar was quoted at N1,380.08 on Wednesday. That was a 0.68 percent drop from N1,370.64 recorded on Tuesday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
The last time the naira traded near that level was on April 28, 2026, when it closed at N1,380.71 per dollar.
Market activity remained strong. The number of deals executed on Tuesday rose by 10.34 percent to 320, up from 290 on Monday. Total turnover at the NFEM window also jumped significantly to $660.25 million on Tuesday. That was an increase of 63.05 percent or $255.31 million compared to $404.94 million recorded on Monday. This points to stronger foreign exchange supply and trading activity.
In the parallel market, the naira closed at N1,400 per dollar. That was a N5 depreciation from N1,395 quoted the previous day. The gap between the official and parallel market rates narrowed to N20 on Wednesday from N31 on Monday.
Nigeria's external reserves rose to a 17-year high of $51.17 billion as of June 23, 2026. That is an increase of 36.38 percent or $13.65 billion compared to $37.52 billion recorded in the same period in 2025. The rise in reserves has been supported by sustained foreign exchange inflows into the economy.
According to the CBN's Monthly Economic Report for February 2026, Nigeria recorded a net foreign exchange inflow of $6.92 billion during the month. That was lower than the $9.22 billion recorded in January 2026. Aggregate foreign exchange inflows declined to $9.43 billion in February from $12.23 billion in January. Total foreign exchange outflows moderated to $2.50 billion from $3.01 billion in the previous month.
Foreign exchange inflows through the CBN fell to $3.09 billion from $4.66 billion in January. Autonomous inflows also declined.