By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian naira recorded a cautious performance on Wednesday, trading slightly weaker against the United States dollar across both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets amid sustained demand pressures.
At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira depreciated marginally as the dollar exchanged at about ₦1,453 to the greenback, reflecting mild weakness compared with the previous session.
Market activity was characterised by volatility, driven largely by increased demand for foreign currency from corporates and importers settling year-end obligations.
In the parallel market, the local currency fared worse, with the dollar quoted higher at between ₦1,475 and ₦1,485, widening the gap between official and street rates and underscoring lingering liquidity challenges.
This was attributed the naira’s performance to heightened dollar demand linked to trade financing, travel, and seasonal corporate payments, despite continued interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support liquidity in the official window.
As the year draws to a close, traders expect the naira to remain under pressure in the near term, with market attention focused on the scale of CBN interventions and foreign inflows that could help stabilise the currency.