The Nigerian naira strengthened against the US dollar at the official foreign-exchange window on Monday, offering a positive start to the week, even as the parallel market moved in the opposite direction. Central Bank of Nigeria figures indicated the currency firmed to 1,368.27 per dollar on Monday, compared with 1,370.19 on the close of trading on Friday.
That translates into a gain of 1.9 naira versus the dollar at the official market from Friday’s closing level. In contrast, the naira weakened in the black market: it slid by 5 naira to 1,410 per dollar on Monday, up from 1,405 per dollar the previous day.
The mixed performance comes alongside an improvement in Nigeria’s external buffers. Foreign reserves rose further to 51.52 billion dollars as of July 3, 2026, according to the latest available data. Investors will be watching how the reserve trend feeds into liquidity and pricing across the different exchange channels, particularly after the naira weakened against the dollar across the foreign-exchange market last week.
