The Nigerian naira maintained stability on the official trade window on Wednesday, closing at N1,602/$1, the identical charge recorded on Tuesday.
This indicators a continuation of the Central {Bank} of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest efforts to stabilize the foreign money amid ongoing {economic} headwinds and inflationary pressures.
In response to official information from the CBN web site, the foreign money had closed at N1,596/$1 on Monday earlier than settling at N1,602/$1 on each Tuesday and Wednesday.
Intra-day buying and selling information revealed that the naira fluctuated between a excessive of N1,603.5/$1 and a low of N1,580/$1 on Wednesday.
This compares to Tuesday’s intra-day excessive and low of N1,602.02/$1 and N1,596.7/$1, respectively, reflecting minimal volatility and a slim buying and selling band.
The typical trade charge stood at N1,599.5/$1 on Wednesday, barely decrease than the N1,600.04/$1 recorded on Tuesday, in accordance with information accessible on the CBN’s official web site.
Towards different main currencies, the naira posted the next charges on the official market on Wednesday:
- British Pound Sterling: N2,129.66
- Euro: N1,814.31
- Swiss Franc: N1,938.44
Motion within the parallel market
In the meantime, within the parallel (black) market, the naira traded at N1,608/$1 on Wednesday, barely strengthening from N1,610/$1 recorded on Tuesday however down from N1,605/$1 on Monday.
- This sustained divergence between the official and unofficial charges — at present at N6 per greenback — has sparked renewed issues amongst analysts and market individuals in regards to the persistence of arbitrage alternatives and speculative buying and selling, which proceed to exert stress on the overseas trade market.
- Nairametrics stories that regardless of the CBN’s tightening insurance policies and interventions to extend liquidity and entice overseas inflows, the widening unfold between the official and black market charges stays a essential problem.
- Analysts say the scenario additionally raises questions in regards to the effectiveness of the continued FX reforms in totally unifying the market and eliminating distortions.
Extra insights
Lately, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economic system, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central {Bank} of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, have declared that President Bola Tinubu’s {economic} reforms have restored the boldness of buyers within the Nigerian economic system and stabilised the overseas trade (FX) market.
- Talking at a joint media briefing on the final day of the 2025 Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) and World {Bank} Spring Conferences in Washington, D.C., the finance minister and the CBN governor introduced a bullish outlook for the nation’s economic system.
- Additionally, the apex {bank} raised a complete of N804.85 billion at its Open Market Operations (OMO) public sale held not too long ago, as buyers proceed to indicate a powerful urge for food for high-yield securities amid persistent extra liquidity within the {financial} system and elevated inflation expectations.
- In an earlier public sale spherical, the CBN supplied N500 billion throughout two maturities and ended up elevating N1.008 trillion following a 102% oversubscription.
- The earlier public sale’s longer tenor—the 319-day invoice—was essentially the most sought-after, and its momentum seems to have carried over into the present public sale.
Nairametrics not too long ago reported that CBN directed all banks working within the nation to undertake the Pan-African Fee and Settlement System (PAPSS) and begin originating transactions beneath the brand new framework, as a part of efforts to deepen intra-African commerce and enhance cross-border fee effectivity.
