Naira holds steady as FX inflows hit one year high
By Aboki Forex —
The naira stayed stable against the dollar in the official foreign exchange market on Thursday. Stronger foreign exchange inflows, rising external reserves and improved market liquidity continued to support the local currency.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed the naira was quoted at N1,380.11 per dollar on Thursday. That was almost unchanged from N1,380.08 recorded on Wednesday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
Interbank turnover jumped to $195.37 million on Thursday. That was a 55.56 percent rise from $125.58 million on Wednesday. It signals stronger market activity. However, the number of interbank deals slipped slightly by 3.97 percent from 126 on Wednesday to 121 on Thursday.
Total turnover at the NFEM window on Wednesday rose to $779.02 million. That was a 21.02 percent increase from $660.25 million recorded on Tuesday.
In the parallel market, the local currency opened at N1,395 per dollar on Friday morning. That was unchanged from Thursday's closing rate. The gap between the official and parallel market rates narrowed to N15 per dollar from N20.
Nigeria's external reserves rose to $51.20 billion as of June 24, 2026. That is a 36.86 percent jump from $37.41 billion recorded in the same period of 2025, according to CBN data. The reserves give the CBN firepower to support the naira.
The CBN's latest monthly economic report showed total foreign exchange inflows into the economy climbed to $12.2 billion in January 2026. That was up from $8.4 billion in December 2025 and $9.6 billion in the same month of the previous year. Stronger autonomous inflows drove the increase. They accounted for about 62 percent of total FX inflows during the month.
In absolute terms, autonomous inflows rose by 60 percent month on month to $7.6 billion. Inflows through the CBN also increased by 60 percent to $4.7 billion. The stronger inflows combined with a sharp decline in FX demand. That resulted in a record net FX surplus of $9.2 billion in January. That was significantly higher than the $3.1 billion recorded in December.