Naira Appreciates Again, Secures New Ranking Among African Currencies
- The naira has continued to improve against the US dollar in the official and unofficial forex markets
- In the last one week, the naira rose by 1.48% in the parallel market and 1.02% in the official market despite a blip on Friday
- A new Forbes ranking has placed the Nigerian naira among the ninth weakest currency in Africa despite recent gains
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The naira has extended its rally this week, gaining 1.48% in the parallel market also known as the black market.
Traders quoted the dollar exchange rate at N1,488 per dollar an improvement from the previous rates of N1,510.
Source: Getty Images
At the official window, the naira also appreciated by 1.02% in one week to N1,465.68 per dollar recorded on Friday, October 3.
Naira to dollar exchange rate
The exchange rate on Friday was, however, a drop from the previous day. The Nigerian currency depreciated against the dollar in the official market by N10.44 or 0.72% on Friday when compared to the previous day’s N1,455.24/$1.
Equally, the local currency depreciated against the pound sterling in the spot market during the session by N16.09 to sell for N1,956.42/£1 versus N1,979.92/£1, and lost N13.86 against the Euro to close at N1,720.85/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,706.99/€1.
However, at the bank, the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar appreciated by N10, especially at GTBank, to quote at N1,460/$1 compared with the previous session’s rate of N1,475/$1.
Market participants expect to stabilise the naira between N1,480 and N1,500 if the Central Bank of Nigeria continued its interventions and increase forex inflows from other sources.
Source: Getty Images
Naira ranking among African currencies
Meanwhile, a Forbes currency calculator ranked the Nigerian naira as the ninth weakest currency in Africa for September 2025, despite recent gains and a slowdown in inflation.
According to Forbes, which uses real-time data from the Open Exchange Rates API, the weakest currencies in Africa are led by the São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra (22,282 per $1), Sierra Leonean Leone (20,970 per $1), and Guinean Franc (8,680 per $1).
The naira, at ₦1,490 per dollar, sits just above the Rwandan franc (₣1,448 per $1).
Conversely, the Tunisian dinar (2.90 per $1), Libyan dinar (5.40 per $1), Moroccan dirham (9.91 per $1), Ghanaian cedi (12.31 per $1), and Botswanan pula (14.15 per $1) ranked as Africa’s strongest currencies.
FX inflows hit nearly $1 billion
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the CBN and market trackers disclosed that foreign exchange inflows rose significantly to $981 million at the official window last week, up from $605 million the previous week.
Coronation Merchant Bank, in its weekly market note, confirmed that foreign portfolio investments (FPI) led the inflows with $318.10 million.
Exporters and non-bank corporates followed closely, while additional supply came from CBN interventions, foreign direct investments, and other sources.
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Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
