The Nigerian Naira staged a recovery against the US Dollar in early trading on Friday, October 23, 2026, trading at ₦1,330.95 to ₦1,331.40 per dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) spot window. The gain follows a brief dip on Thursday when the currency closed at ₦1,344.40/$.
In the unofficial parallel market, street operators and Bureau De Change (BDC) outlets across commercial hubs in Lagos and Abuja quoted buying rates around ₦1,360 to ₦1,365/$ and selling rates between ₦1,375 and ₦1,380/$. The parallel market premium remains steady at roughly ₦45 to ₦50 per dollar.
Addressing financial journalists during an early morning market update at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headquarters in Abuja, CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, highlighted that recent monetary policy measures and sustained foreign portfolio inflows have stabilized liquidity across official channels.
”Our continuous monetary policy recalibration and strategic market interventions are yielding the intended stability,” Sidi Ali stated. “Sustained diaspora remittances and heightened foreign investor interest in domestic yield instruments continue to provide a firm buffer for the domestic currency.”
Speaking from the floor of the FMDQ Exchange in Victoria Island, Lagos, Dr. Isaac Nnadi, Chief Economist at Lagos Financial Analytics, noted that while retail foreign exchange demand for international tuition and import funding keeps parallel market activity active, the narrowing gap between the two windows reflects improving market confidence.
At current spot rates, a $100 exchange yields ₦133,095 to ₦133,140 through official bank channels, compared to up to ₦138,000 through unofficial retail channels. Financial analysts maintain a stable outlook for the naira through the final quarter of 2026, supported by steady crude oil receipts and disciplined central bank intervention.
