The naira edged higher at Nigeria’s official foreign exchange window on Monday as markets looked ahead to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on interest rates. CBN figures showed the currency strengthened slightly to 1,380.10 naira per US dollar on Monday, compared with 1,380.18 per dollar at the close of trade last Friday—an improvement of 0.08 naira on the official market.
On the parallel market, however, the naira was flat. The exchange rate held at 1,425 naira per dollar on Monday, matching the level recorded at the end of trading last Friday. While the official and black-market readings pointed in different directions, Nigeria’s external reserves continued to rise, extending their streak of gains. The reserves climbed to 51.92 billion US dollars as of July 16, 2026.
Monday’s currency movement came with Nigeria preparing for the results of the CBN’s 306th MPC meeting, scheduled for Tuesday. The current benchmark policy rate is 26.50%, while inflation stood at 15.91% in June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
