By Atoyebi Nike
The naira rose to a six-month high of N1,514.86 per dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Thursday, its strongest level since March 6, 2025, when it traded at N1,512.30 per dollar.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed the currency appreciated by N6.59 or 0.4 per cent from Wednesday’s close of N1,521.45. Trading was cut short by a federal holiday, making Thursday the final session of the week.
In the parallel market, the naira held steady at N1,535 per dollar, while GTBank quoted N1,533 for international transactions.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood at $41.30 billion on September 4, slightly down from $41.49 billion a day earlier.
FX inflows into the economy rose 4 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 26 per cent year-on-year to $29 billion in Q1 2025, driven largely by CBN reforms and tight monetary policies. However, outflows surged 14 per cent q/q and 33 per cent y/y to $13.8 billion, the highest since Q2 2020.
Analysts noted that most inflows were from autonomous sources, which hit $20.7 billion, the strongest since the COVID-19 era. Foreign portfolio investment inflows also jumped to $4.9 billion, up 40 per cent q/q and 101 per cent y/y.
Outflows were dominated by CBN-related payments, accounting for 77 per cent, including $1.4 billion in external debt servicing.
Economists say strong inflows, supported by reforms, have helped keep the naira relatively stable in 2025, trading mostly between N1,500 and N1,600 per dollar.
