The Nigerian naira maintained its position on Monday, trading at ₦1,534.20 per US dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention in the forex market.
The apex bank injected $81 million into the market to provide much-needed liquidity and stabilise the exchange rate, which had come under pressure in recent sessions. This intervention helped steady the naira, which had closed at ₦1,534.71 per dollar the previous Friday.
Intraday trades saw fluctuations, with the naira reaching a high of ₦1,535.50 and a low of ₦1,532 before closing at ₦1,535, highlighting underlying demand pressures in the forex market.
The naira had experienced a mild depreciation last week as a result of dwindling FX supply. In response, the CBN’s dollar sale to commercial banks and other licensed FX dealers aimed to bridge the shortfall and support business transactions requiring foreign currency.
This intervention came amid a marked decline in total weekly forex inflows, which fell by over 25%, dropping to $979 million from $1.31 billion in the prior week.
On a positive note, Nigeria’s gross external reserves have continued their upward trajectory, reaching $38.765 billion, based on the latest update from the CBN. Analysts interpret the build-up in reserves as a sign of strengthened macroeconomic buffers, which could support further FX interventions if necessary.
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