Naira closes week flat as external reserves rise, market confidence improves
By Seun Ibiyemi
The naira closed the second week of November largely flat across key foreign exchange markets, even as Nigeria’s external reserves continued to climb, providing some support for the domestic currency amid persistent demand pressures.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the naira ended trading on Friday at N1,442.43 per dollar, marking a 0.4 percent depreciation or N5.86 week-on-week, compared with N1,436.57 recorded the previous Friday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Across the five trading sessions in the official window, the currency shed N5.14, as the dollar was quoted at N1,442.43 on Friday versus N1,437.29 at the start of the week.
The day-to-day movement reflected continued fragility, with the naira weakening by 99 kobo from the N1,441.44 quoted on Thursday, an indication of the delicate demand-supply balance in the formal FX market.
In its latest market update, Afrinvest Securities Limited said the naira appreciated across both the official and parallel markets, supported mainly by CBN interventions.
Afrinvest reported that the naira gained 0.4 percent week-on-week at the NAFEM window to close at N1,442.43, while appreciating 1.5 percent week-on-week in the parallel market to N1,445 per dollar.
The firm noted that the narrowing gap between the two markets reflects weakening speculative pressure and slowly improving investor confidence.
In the parallel market, however, the naira recorded a marginal improvement, appreciating 0.2 percent to N1,457 per dollar from N1,460 on Monday.
Traders attributed the slight uptick to expectations of improved liquidity and recent regulatory measures aimed at curbing speculative activity.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves maintained their upward trend, rising to $43.53 billion as of November 13, representing a 0.48 percent increase from $43.32 billion recorded on November 6.
Analysts at FSDH also highlighted the currency’s relative stability in recent weeks, attributing the trend to greater market transparency, rising reserves, and increased FX inflows. They observed that the naira strengthened to around N1,460 per dollar in October 2025, driven by improved liquidity and reduced speculative demand.
While short-term risks have moderated, FSDH analysts warned that maintaining stability will require disciplined monetary policy and consistent communication from authorities to keep expectations in check.