Naira Tumbles to N1,367/$1 at Official Market, N1,380/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira performed woefully against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the currency market on Monday, October 26, 2026, as demand for foreign exchange (FX) continues to mount pressure.

In the black market window, the local currency weakened further against the greenback during the session by N10 to sell for N1,380/$1, in contrast to the previous rate of N1,370/$1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian currency lost N5.77 or 0.42 per cent against the US Dollar yesterday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to settle at N1,367.61/$1 versus N1,361.84/$1.

Also, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling at the official market by N4.29 to end at N1,825.75/£1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,821.46/£1, and declined against the Euro by N5.23 to trade at N1,530.35/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,525.12/€1.

The depreciation came as projected seasonal demand met low supply, with data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showing high turnover and deals despite closing lower than last Friday’s level.

Interbank FX turnover slumped by 39.2 per cent to $614.25 billion from $1.01 billion, while the number of FX deals decreased by 201 deals from 315 deals.

Market participants are expecting the central bank to intervene in the FX market to moderate the pressure on the local currency as importers step up demand ahead of the holiday season, while investors sell off securities to lock in profits.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged on Monday due to selling pressure and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

Risks surrounding the Federal Reserve’s October 28 policy decision remain high. Although markets largely expect interest rates to remain unchanged, the probability of a December rate hike has increased, potentially limiting demand for riskier assets.

Solana (SOL) crashed by 0.9 per cent to $99.72, TRON (TRX) slipped by 0.4 per cent to $0.3282, Bitcoin (BTC) shrank by 0.3 per cent to $79,676.39, Binance Coin (BNB) also depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $735.11, and Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 0.2 per cent to $2,305.94.

But Ripple (XRP) jumped 1.2 per cent to $1.29, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $0.0773, and Cardano (ADA) increased by 0.5 per cent to $0.2032, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00.