Dollar Gains as Naira Weakens at Official, Black Market

CHECK OUT: Discover How to Work with Brands, Earn from Affiliate Links, and Tap into Ad Revenue — Because Your Content Deserves to Pay Off.

• The Nigerian currency has depreciated in the official market as it fell against the euro, but gained slightly against the pound sterling
• The naira weakened as inflows from exporters, corporates, and foreign investors slowed, compounded by limited intervention from the CBN
• The Central Bank of Nigeria has released the latest exchange rates for other foreign currencies

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

The Nigerian currency has weakened against the United States dollar and other major currencies in the official foreign exchange market.

The latest data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira depreciated by N3.67 or 0.25% against the dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), closing at N1,455.49/$1 on Wednesday, December 17, compared with Tuesday’s N1,451.82/$1.

CHECK OUT: Your Opinion Matters — Tell Us How Legit.ng Can Improve and Win Access To The Copywriting Course for Free.

In the official market, the naira also lost ground against the euro, falling by 98 Kobo to N1,706.72/€1 from N1,705.74/€1, while it strengthened slightly against the Pound Sterling by 75 Kobo to N1,943.28/£1 from N1,943.98/£1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the naira declined by N3 to N1,463/$1 versus N1,460/$1 a day earlier.

Naira performance in the parallel markets

Meanwhile, in the parallel market, traders confirmed that they have set new selling rates for major currencies.

Abudullahi, one of the trader said:

"We sold the US dollar at N1,487.01, the British pound at N2,204.40, the euro at N1,853.70, and the Canadian dollar at N1,152.30 today."

Snapshot of latest exchange rate

• CFA: N2.61
• Yuan/Renminbi: N206.63
• Danish Krona: N228.41
• Euro: N1,706.72
• Yen: N9.36
• Riyal: N388.02
• South African Rand: N87.06
• Swiss Franc: N1,828.06
• Pound Sterling: N1,943.24

Factors driving the depreciation

Analysts attributed the pressure on the Naira to thin U.S. dollar inflows from exporters, non-bank corporates, and foreign portfolio investors, alongside the absence of immediate intervention by the CBN to boost supply.

Weekly inflows into the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market fell 15% to $716.3 million from $844.7 million the previous week.

The CBN expects inflows from the “Detty December” period to ease foreign exchange demand, though high local prices may be limiting spending.

Meanwhile, despite seasonal FX pressures, the CBN’s ongoing support is helping maintain the Naira within a stable trading range.

Latest data show Nigeria’s gross external reserves increased to $45.47 billion, reflecting an 11.2% Year-to-Date (YTD) gain.

Senate approves exchange rate for 2026

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s Senate has approved the Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate projections for 2026 as part of the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

Under the approved framework, the Senate confirmed the Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate projection of N1,512 per dollar for 2026.

The Central Bank of Nigeria projected that the naira would average N1,432.15 per dollar in 2027 and appreciate further to N1,383.18 per dollar in 2028.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.