By Boluwatife Oshadiya | March 5, 2026
Key Points
- Naira depreciates at both official and parallel markets amid tight dollar liquidity
- Official exchange rate weakens to ₦1,387.45 per dollar, extending 12-day decline
- Nigeria’s external reserves increase to $49.883 billion following new gold additions
Main Story
The Nigerian naira depreciated across both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets as dollar liquidity remained tight, even as the country’s external reserves climbed to nearly $50 billion.
Daily foreign exchange data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed the naira weakened by 0.03 percent at the official market, closing at ₦1,387.45 per US dollar.
The decline marks the local currency’s twelfth consecutive day of depreciation amid limited intervention by the apex bank during the first quarter of 2026.
In the parallel market, the naira also weakened by 0.27 percent to trade at around ₦1,385 per dollar, reflecting persistent pressure across both regulated and informal segments of the currency market.
Analysts say demand for foreign exchange continues to outpace supply, with foreign payments rising faster than dollar inflows. Key sources of FX supply include foreign portfolio investors, exporters, corporate inflows and retail market participants.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s gross external reserves rose to $49.883 billion as of March 3, 2026, up from $49.693 billion previously, according to data published on the Central Bank’s website.
The increase partly reflects the apex bank’s strategy to diversify the composition of the country’s reserves through domestically sourced gold purchases.
What’s Being Said
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has taken delivery of responsibly sourced gold refined to London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery standards into its foreign reserves,” the apex bank said in a statement.
“The latest receipt brings the CBN’s total gold holdings to about $3.5 billion, marking a significant step in its reserve diversification strategy.”
The CBN said the gold was sourced locally and aggregated by the Solid Minerals Development Fund through the National Gold Purchase Programme.
What’s Next
- Market participants will watch whether the CBN increases foreign exchange interventions if the naira’s depreciation trend persists.
- Analysts also expect global oil price movements and geopolitical tensions to influence Nigeria’s FX liquidity and reserve levels in the coming months.
