The naira opened the first trading session of November with a marginal depreciation across the foreign exchange (FX) market, as trading activity moderated amid mixed liquidity conditions.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the naira depreciated by N1.56, or 0.12 percent, as the dollar was quoted at N1,347.94 on Monday, compared with N1,346.26 recorded on the last trading day of October 2026.
In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the local currency remained stable at N1,385 per dollar on Tuesday morning. The gap between the official and parallel market rates narrowed slightly to N38, or 2.82 percent, from N39, or 2.89 percent, on Friday.
Trading activity also moderated, with total turnover at the interbank segment of the FX market declining by 63 percent to $21.77 million on Monday from $58.85 million recorded on Friday. The number of deals fell by 68.06 percent to 23 from 72 over the same period.
Although NFEM figures for turnover and the number of deals were unavailable as of the time of reporting, the latest available data showed that turnover at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) window increased by 27.11 percent to $583.33 million on Friday from $458.91 million recorded the previous day. The number of deals also rose by 2.02 percent to 252 from 247.
Read also: 2026 Licensing Round: NUPRC to open bid portal Nov 20, offers 40 oil, gas blocks
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the CBN with the capacity to support the naira and meet the country’s external obligations, maintained an upward trajectory, rising to $55.22 billion as of October 30, 2026.
The reserves represented a 27.91 percent increase from $43.17 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, strengthening the country’s external buffers against potential shocks.
The improvement in external buffers comes amid stronger net foreign exchange inflows into the economy in the second quarter of 2026, largely supported by increased inflows from autonomous sources.
Read also: Explainer: Cyber fraud: Who pays when your account is hacked?
According to CBN data, net foreign exchange inflows rose to $21.09 billion in the second quarter, compared with $20.30 billion in the preceding quarter.
However, aggregate foreign exchange inflows declined by 4.24 percent to $30.03 billion from $31.36 billion in the first quarter, while total outflows fell by 19.17 percent to $8.94 billion from $11.06 billion.
Foreign exchange inflows through the CBN decreased by 20.47 percent to $8.12 billion from $10.21 billion, while inflows through autonomous sources increased by 3.59 percent to $21.91 billion from $21.15 billion in the preceding quarter.
On the outflow side, transactions through the CBN declined by 35.89 percent to $4.77 billion from $7.44 billion, while outflows through autonomous sources increased by 15.51 percent to $4.17 billion from $3.61 billion.
Consequently, autonomous sources recorded a net foreign exchange inflow of $17.74 billion, up from $17.53 billion in the preceding quarter. The CBN also recorded a higher net inflow of $3.35 billion, compared with $2.77 billion in the first quarter.
Despite the improvement in net inflows, average turnover at the NFEM declined by 7.56 percent to $530.42 million in the second quarter from $573.81 million recorded in the first quarter, indicating a moderation in average daily trading activity.
Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.
