The naira has continued to gain strength in the official foreign exchange market, recording a total appreciation of N47 against the dollar since May 29. According to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the official exchange rate moved from N1,551 to N1,540 per dollar as of last Thursday. This reflects an improvement of N11 in just one day.
As a result of this upward movement, the difference between the official rate and the parallel market rate widened to N60, up from N54 recorded the previous day. Analysts from Afrinvest West Africa Limited, in their latest monthly update, noted that the naira showed a mixed performance across different market segments in the past month.
They reported that the naira appreciated by 0.7% month-on-month at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, closing at N1,586.15 per dollar. However, it declined by 1.2% in the parallel market, ending the month at N1,615 per dollar.
Looking ahead, Afrinvest analysts expect the naira’s performance to remain varied across market segments, citing continued intervention by the CBN as a key factor likely to support exchange rate stability.
