The naira on Monday maintained its stability across segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market as Nigeria’s external reserves crossed the $45 billion mark, according to updated figures on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) website.
At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira closed flat after trading, depreciating slightly by N1.44 as the dollar was quoted at N1,451.86 compared to N1,450.42 on Friday, CBN data showed.
In the parallel market, the local currency weakened by 0.8 per cent or N12 to N1,480 on Monday, from N1,468 recorded last week.
A weekly FX report by Coronation Merchant Bank indicated that the naira depreciated across both the official and parallel markets last week, reflecting broad weakness in the currency’s performance.
The official rate declined by 0.25 per cent week-on-week to N1,450.43 per dollar, while the parallel market rate weakened by 1.67 per cent to N1,495 per dollar.
As a result, the spread between both markets widened to N44.57 per dollar, up from N23.26 per dollar in the previous week.
Nigeria’s external reserves continued their steady rise, crossing $45.1 billion as of December 5, 2025, according to the CBN.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN, recently disclosed that foreign reserves had reached $46.7 billion by mid-November, the highest in nearly seven years.
He said the reserves now provide more than 10 months of forward import cover, significantly strengthening the economy’s buffers against external shocks.
(Business Day)
