The Nigerian naira ended the trading week on a steady note against the US dollar across both the official and parallel markets on Friday, signalling a fragile but growing stability in Africa’s largest economy.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed the dollar trading at approximately ₦1,375.41 at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) window, a figure that has barely budged in recent sessions and one that traders say reflects the quiet confidence or at least cautious equilibrium that has come to define naira trading in recent weeks.
At the official NFEM window, the naira’s relative steadiness is no accident. The CBN has maintained an active posture in the market, deploying targeted interventions and working to boost foreign exchange inflows through legitimate channels. Market watchers say those efforts are paying off, at least for now.
“The official market is benefiting from improved FX inflows, and the CBN’s continued presence has provided a floor for the naira,” one Lagos-based currency analyst told this reporter. “We are seeing more orderly trading compared to what we had earlier in the year.”
The NFEM rate, calculated as a volume-weighted average of completed transactions during each trading session, serves as Nigeria’s official FX benchmark, the rate at which banks, corporations, and government entities are expected to anchor their dollar transactions.
Perhaps the most telling development on Friday was not the rate itself but the narrowing spread between the official and parallel markets, long a barometer of underlying FX tension in Nigeria.
On the streets and in bureau de change offices across Lagos and Abuja, the dollar was exchanging hands at a buying rate of around ₦1,378 and a selling rate of approximately ₦1,390, a premium over the official rate but one that has shrunk considerably compared to the yawning gaps that characterized much of last year, when the spread occasionally ran into the hundreds of naira.
“When the gap between the official and parallel markets is this tight, it tells you that confidence is returning,” said a senior analyst at a tier-one Nigerian commercial bank, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It means fewer people feel compelled to circumvent the official system.”
Currency traders on Friday confirmed that demand for the greenback stayed strong throughout the session, driven by importers, manufacturers, and other end users scrambling to cover dollar obligations, a structural reality in an economy that remains heavily import-dependent.
“The pressure on the naira is not going away,” one veteran forex trader operating in Lagos’s Wuse market said candidly. “Demand is still there. What has changed is that supply is better than it was. But any disruption in inflows, and you could see things move quickly.”
Indeed, the naira has been oscillating within a ₦1,360 to ₦1,390 band against the dollar across both markets in recent weeks, a relatively narrow corridor that traders are watching closely for signs of a decisive breakout in either direction.
For the CBN, Friday’s data will likely offer some relief, if not outright celebration. The bank has staked significant policy credibility on its drive to unify Nigeria’s exchange rate markets, reduce speculative activity, and restore foreign investor confidence, goals that, by the metrics of this week at least, appear to be bearing fruit.
But economists caution against reading too much into short-term stability. Nigeria’s FX market remains sensitive to shifts in global oil prices, dollar liquidity conditions, and domestic economic sentiment.
With the country still navigating elevated inflation and a recovering but uncertain real sector, the naira’s newfound composure could yet be tested.
For now, the numbers speak a language of cautious optimism, and in the volatile world of Nigerian foreign exchange, that is no small thing.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Nigerian naira ended Friday, May 29, 2026, on a stable footing against the US dollar, trading at roughly ₦1,375 at the official NFEM window and between ₦1,378 and ₦1,390 on the parallel market.
The most significant takeaway is the notably narrow gap between both markets, a clear indicator that the CBN’s sustained interventions and improved foreign exchange inflows are gradually restoring confidence in Nigeria’s currency.
However, persistent dollar demand from importers and manufacturers serves as a reminder that this stability remains fragile, and any disruption to FX supply could quickly unsettle the gains made.
