Naira Loses N17 as CBN Crashes Local Currency to Narrow Foreign Exchange Gap
- Naira loses N17 as Central Bank aims to bridge currency gap in the foreign exchange market
- Naira trades at N1,363.39 after a weekly depreciation of 1.25% after a strong rally the week before
- Nigeria's external reserves surpass $50 billion, the highest in 13 years, boosting investor confidence
Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
The Nigerian currency, the naira, began the new month with a loss of N17, which was carried over from trading on Friday, February 27, 2026.
The development follows the dollar mop-up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), aiming to narrow the yawning gap between the official and parallel markets.
Source: Getty Images
Naira depreciates by 1.25%
Data from the CBN shows that the naira weakened by 1.25% weekly, with the dollar trading at N1,363.39 on Friday, February 27, 2026, relative to last week’s rally.
The naira depreciated by 1.04% during the five trading sessions last week, from N1,349.24 recorded on Monday, February 23, 2026, the first trading day of the week.
Daily, the naira dropped by 0.3% or N3.57 per dollar, compared to N1,359.82 traded on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market(NFEM).
In the unofficial parallel market, the local currency lost N30 per week, closing at N1,370 on Friday, February 27, 2026, representing a 2.19% fall from N1,340 quoted the previous day.
The naira, however, remained strong at N1,370 daily.
According to a report by BusinessDay, the exchange rate gap between the official and parallel market windows narrowed to N7 from N11 recorded on Thursday, February 26, 2026, showing a 0.5% closure and showing greater convergence between the two windows.
According to reports, before last week’s fall, the naira rallied against the dollar, hitting a two-year high of N1,335.96 on February 17, 2026, at the official market.
Experts say the recent pullback came amid a strong rallying streak, which prompted the CBN to step into the FX market, mopping up excess dollars to reduce the naira’s gains and prevent a strong rally of the naira.
The naira hits a two-year high
Experts at CardinalStone said that the naira rose steeply in recent weeks, gaining about 6.9% year-to-date as of last week and reaching one of its strongest levels in two years.
Despite the rally, the parallel market traded at about 5.7% premium to the official rate before narrowing to around 3.2% following renewed dollar sales to the Bureau de Change (BDC) operators.
An ex-deputy governor of the CBN, Tunde Lemo, said the naira's stability and steady growth of Nigeria’s external reserves are sustainable.
Lemo attributed the improvements to structural reforms, better trade dynamics, and disciplined monetary management.
Nigeria’s external reserves surpass $50 billion
The apex bank disclosed recently that Nigeria’s external reserves increased to $50.45 billion, showing a strong investor confidence in Nigeria’s foreign-exchange position and stronger liquidity conditions.
The CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this at the end of the 304th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
The CBN boss said the current reserve level is enough to cover about 9.68 months of imports, showing Nigeria’s improved buffer against external shocks.
He attributed the reserve growth to higher export earnings and increased remittance inflows, which supported foreign exchange liquidity and renewed investor confidence.
Experts express optimism in the naira
Comercio Partners said in its macroeconomic outlook for H1 2026 that 2025 was a turning point for the local currency, representing its first annual appreciation in 13 years.
The report said that the naira appreciated by 6.87% against the dollar, moving from N1,541 at the beginning of the year in the official market, closing at N1,435 on December 31, 2025.
Experts say they expect the naira to continue its rally following an increased reserve position and foreign currency earnings from oil sales amid Iran-Israeli-US tensions.
Source: Getty Images
Naira avoids Africa’s 10 weakest currencies in February
Legit.ng earlier reported that fresh data released in February 2026 has revealed the 10 weakest currencies in Africa, and, notably, Nigeria’s naira did not feature on the list, despite depreciating recently due CBN's interventions.
The ranking, compiled using figures from the Forbes currency calculator, highlights countries whose currencies have depreciated sharply against major global currencies such as the US dollar and euro.
While the naira has faced its own challenges in recent years, it was absent from the latest lineup of Africa’s weakest-performing currencies.
Source: Legit.ng
