Naira Firms Against Dollar, Trades N1,331/$1 at NAFEX

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by 0.06 per cent or 91 Kobo to N1,331.19/$1 from N1,332.10/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, October 7.

It was relatively flat against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session as it gained 1 Kobo to close at N1,759.16/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,759.17/£1, but lost 57 Kobo against the Euro to finish at N1,490.79/€1 versus the N1,490.22/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the United States Dollar yesterday at N1,360/$1.

Interbank FX turnover fell sharply by 76.9 per cent to $162.736 million from $326.116 million recorded the previous day, with the number of deals down to 101 from 192, according data revealed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said Nigeria’s net external reserves have climbed to a record $46 billion, strengthening the country’s capacity to meet foreign exchange (FX) obligations and further boost investor confidence.

This comes as Nigeria’s gross external reserves had also risen to an all-time high of $55.07 billion as of October 8, 2026.

The growth in net reserves is significant because it provides an indication of Nigeria’s reserve position after accounting for specified foreign-currency liabilities and obligations. It also offers additional insight into the strength of Nigeria’s external buffers beyond the headline gross reserves figure.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed during the session, as traders and investors weighed rising oil prices and interest rates.

Next week brings September CPI and PPI reports that will be key data as the US Federal Reserve contemplates when to hike its benchmark fed funds rate again.

For now, analysts are betting that the central bank skips a 25 basis point hike at its October 27-28 meeting (ahead of midterms), but resumes tightening policy at its subsequent meeting in December.

Cardano (ADA) rose by 5.6 per cent to $0.2528, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.9 per cent to $0.0861, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $747.78, Ripple (XRP) gained 0.4 per cent to close at $1.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $82,640.65.

On the flip side, Solana (SOL) dropped 0.6 per cent to $109.76, Tron (TRON) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $0.3304, and Ethereum (ETH) lost 0.3 per cent to finish at $2,490.46, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.