Naira holds steady as external reserves climb to $51.77bn

The naira traded largely unchanged across Nigeria’s foreign exchange market on Monday, supported by rising external reserves despite weaker trading activity. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed the naira closed at N1,379.65 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, compared with N1,379.62 on Friday, a marginal depreciation of N0.03.

Parallel market gap widens

In the parallel market, the local currency weakened slightly by N5, or 0.35 percent, to N1,425 per dollar on Monday from N1,420 on Friday. As a result, the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates widened to N46 per dollar from N41 on Friday.

Trading activity in the interbank FX market moderated at the start of the week. Total turnover declined by 9.74 percent to $71.04 million on Monday from $78.71 million on Friday, while the number of deals fell by 17.92 percent to 87 on Monday from 106 over the same period on Friday.

External reserves hit $51.77bn

Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the CBN with the capacity to support the naira and meet the country’s external obligations, continued their upward trajectory, rising to $51.77 billion as of July 10, 2026. The reserves were up by 38.61 percent from $37.33 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, according to data published on the CBN’s website.

Although NFEM trading data for Monday were not available at the time of filing this report, the latest figures showed that market activity had already slowed. The number of deals declined by 6.67 percent to 308 on July 10 from 330 on July 9, while total turnover dropped by 40.77 percent to $298.92 million from $504.67 million.

Market activity remains subdued

According to the Financial Markets Dealers Association, the naira depreciated marginally by 0.07 percent in the NFEM during the previous week, while total market turnover fell sharply by nearly half to $1.72 billion from $3.39 billion, reflecting weaker market activity despite the broadly stable exchange rate.

FMDA also noted that renewed tensions between Iran and the United States, following fresh exchanges after earlier signs of de-escalation, heightened concerns over global energy supply and contributed to higher crude oil prices during the week.

Analysts say the combination of stronger external reserves and stable exchange rate continues to support market confidence, although the sharp decline in FX turnover suggests demand and supply conditions remain subdued.

For the naira and Nigerian businesses, the rising reserves provide a buffer that could help the CBN manage exchange rate volatility, but the persistent drop in trading volumes signals that liquidity constraints and cautious positioning are still weighing on the market.