The Nigerian naira maintained a relatively calm and steady course against the United States dollar on Thursday, July 23, 2026, recording minimal fluctuations across both official and unofficial foreign exchange windows. ​
Data from the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), published by the FMDQ Securities Exchange, showed the local currency closing trading hours at ₦1,372.50 per dollar, reflecting a minor 0.15%
shift from Wednesday’s closing position of ₦1,370.40.
Daily transaction volume on the platform reached $185.4 million by 5:00 PM West Africa Time (WAT). ​At the unofficial parallel market in Victoria Island and Ikeja, Lagos, Bureau De Change (BDC) operators bought and sold the dollar within a tight band of ₦1,390/$ and ₦1,400/$. ​
Alhaji Usman Garba, a currency trader operating at Zone 4 in Abuja, noted that demand for greenbacks remained subdued throughout the morning and afternoon trading sessions. ​”Trading has been quiet today,” Garba said at 3:30 PM.
“We are seeing steady supply matching current retail demand for travel and small import orders, keeping rates level.” ​Financial analysts attribute the relative stability to improved forex liquidity management and recent interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). ​
Speaking in Lagos on Thursday afternoon, Dr. Charles Adebayo, Chief Economist at Horizon Macro Research, emphasized that the narrowed margin between the official and parallel market rates points toward sustained convergence.
​”The reduced premium between NFEM and the street market is a strong signal of market efficiency,” Adebayo noted. “As long as export inflows and diaspora remittances remain steady, the naira should maintain this bounded range in the near term.”
