The naira on Tuesday appreciated to an all-time high of N1,448.20 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market, marking its strongest level since trading began on the Electronic Foreign Exchange Market System (EFEMS).
This performance represents a significant gain of 14.70 per cent, equivalent to N211.92, when compared to the N1,661.12 recorded in December 2024 during the initial phase of the EFEMS platform.
At the close of trading on Tuesday, the local currency strengthened by 0.3 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N1,448.20, an improvement from N1,452.79 quoted on Monday. The parallel market, popularly known as the black market, maintained stability as the naira closed at N1,485 per dollar, unchanged from the previous day.
Bala Moh’d Bello, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), attributed the naira’s relative stability to the impact of tighter liquidity management, growing investor confidence, and the government’s recent reforms in foreign exchange administration.
He explained that speculative activity in the FX market had declined considerably, a development that has enhanced transparency and reinforced market-based price discovery. According to him, the naira’s current stability is expected to be sustained in the medium term, supported by the steady buildup of external reserves, which stood at $42.8 billion as of October 22, 2025.
A recent report by United Capital Plc also reflected the naira’s positive trajectory, showing that the currency appreciated by 2.47 per cent, averaging N1,497.79 per dollar in September, compared to N1,534.75 per dollar recorded in August. The report further indicated that the appreciation of the naira against the US dollar had a noticeable pass-through effect on the prices of imported goods.
Specifically, the average price of imported rice fell by 0.42 per cent in September, compared to its August 2025 level, underscoring the moderating influence of the stronger naira on consumer prices and import costs.