Economy
Naira Steady at N1,488.91/$1 at Official FX Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira stabilised against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), remaining relatively unchanged at N1,488.92/$1 on Tuesday, September 23.
However, the local currency marginally lost 27 Kobo against the Pound Sterling in the official market to trade at N2,011.37/£1 compared with the previous day’s N2,011.10/£1, and depreciated against the Euro in the same market window by 18 Kobo to close at N1,754.35/€1, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N1,754.17/€1.
As for the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira further remained unchanged against the greenback yesterday at N1,510/$1.
Market analysts expect the Naira to remain stable, underpinned by resilient FX market liquidity and improving domestic inflows.
Nigeria’s external reserves climbed to $42.03 billion on September 19, 2025, the highest level since late September 2019, representing a six-year peak. The return of reserves above $42 billion strengthens the central bank’s capacity to smooth volatility in the FX market and meet external obligations.
Higher oil output and a stronger performance by industry and agriculture are also offering background support for the Naira via improved exports contribution to the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday lowered the country’s interest rate by 50 basis points to 27 per cent from 27.50 per cent, marking the first rate cut since 2020. The reduction comes after three consecutive pauses in rate adjustments and follows six consecutive rate hikes recorded throughout 2024.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bearish, with Solana (SOL) down by 4.2 per cent to sell at $209.21, and Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 1.4 per cent to $0.2382.
Cardano (ADA) slumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.8131, Ethereum (ETH) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $4,172.52, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 0.4 per cent to $2.86, and Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.3 per cent to sell at $112,594.15.
On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 2.1 per cent to $1,014.03, and Litecoin (LTC) gained 0.6 per cent to trade at $106.81, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
