CBN Crashes Dollar as Demand Increases, Naira Trades at New Rates
- The Central Bank of Nigeria sold $953.41m in foreign exchange in March 2026, the highest intervention level in nearly a year
- CBN data showed FX sales collapsed to as low as $58.93m in January before the sharp March recovery
- Analysts say Nigeria's exchange rate reforms have shifted the FX market, with private-sector inflows now driving most activity
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
The Central Bank of Nigeria sharply ramped up its foreign exchange interventions in March 2026, selling $953.41m to the market in what the data shows is the strongest central bank FX activity since April 2025.
Figures published in the CBN's latest Quarterly Statistical Bulletin showed that spot market transactions made up the bulk of the March sales, with $950.10m channelled through that route and a further $3.31m directed to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Source: Getty Images
March marks a steep recovery
The March figure represents a dramatic swing from the opening months of 2026. The CBN sold just $58.93m in January and $244.13m in February, meaning March's intervention was more than 16 times the January level and roughly 291 per cent above February's sales.
The last time interventions reached a comparable scale was April 2025, when the CBN supplied $1.65bn to the market.
Sales cooled significantly after that peak, falling to $838.93m in May, $676.31m in June, and then sliding further to $399.80m in September and $150.10m in October before picking up again towards the close of 2025.
Private sector flows now leading the market
Analysts say the broader pattern reflects a structural shift in how Nigeria's foreign exchange market operates since the government unified exchange rates in 2023.
Private-sector participants, including exporters and investors, now contribute the majority of dollar inflows entering the formal market, reducing the pressure on the CBN to intervene continuously.
The weak sales recorded in January and February this year suggest the CBN leaned on those autonomous flows before stepping back into the market with larger spot sales in March.
Experts note that while periodic CBN interventions remain necessary to manage liquidity and prevent disorderly price movements, the central bank no longer plays as dominant a role as it did before the exchange rate reforms took effect.
Naira stabilises as reserves hit 17-year high
The March intervention, in that context, signals a targeted response to rising demand pressures rather than a return to the sustained, large-scale FX supply that previously defined the CBN's approach.
Source: Getty Images
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the naira closed flat on Friday, August 14, 2026, at N1,357 to a dollar.
The current rate comes as Nigeria’s external reserves hit $52 billion, a 17-year high.
Experts have said the current naira stability has trickled down to other sectors, with imports now getting cheaper.
Naira gains against dollar
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian naira closed stronger against the US dollar on Thursday, August 13, at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining N2.93, or 0.22%, to close at N1,357.65/$1, compared with N1,360.58 recorded on Wednesday
At the GTBank forex desk, the currency also firmed by N3 to N1,367/$1. In the parallel market, however, the naira remained unchanged at N1,395/$1, leaving the gap between the two segments at roughly 2.75%.
The naira's gains were not limited to the dollar. Against the pound sterling, it rose by N6.94 to close at N1,834.05 per pound, while it gained N5.01 against the euro to trade at N1,567.00 per euro at the official market.
Source: Legit.ng
