Naira Closes Week at ₦1,363.83/$ as Mixed Signals Persist

 The naira recorded a week of contrasting fortunes against major currencies, closing at ₦1,363.83 per dollar in the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) on Thursday, June 11, representing a modest 0.4% weekly loss.

Despite a mid-week rally that saw the local currency touch a near-month high of ₦1,357.26 per dollar, sustained demand pressures and a slowdown in dollar liquidity pushed the naira lower by ₦5.08 week-on-week.

The gap between the official and parallel markets has widened to approximately ₦46 per dollar. The black market rate fluctuated sharply between ₦1,395 and ₦1,409 during the week, weakening by as much as N15 in a single day as demand pressure remained elevated.

In contrast, the naira showed strength against the British Pound and the Euro, opening at ₦1,823/£1 and trading as low as ₦1,573/€1.

The mixed performance comes against the backdrop of a 17-year high in Nigeria’s foreign reserves, which surged to $50.42 billion. However, analysts note that high reserves have not translated into full market liquidity, creating an “unmet FX demand” that pushes traders to the more expensive parallel market.

“The naira remains undervalued by about 13.22% despite the ongoing reforms,” said Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, in a note to investors.

Market observers attribute the volatility to a combination of offshore inflows, OMO maturities totalling ₦10.9 trillion, and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s revised FX Manual, which has improved transparency but cannot fully curb underlying demand pressures.

For the remainder of 2026, analysts project the naira will remain relatively stable, with a modest appreciation expected by year-end, barring fresh external shocks.