The naira traded within a relatively narrow range against the United States dollar during the week ended Friday, October 2, 2026, maintaining stability in the official foreign exchange market even as the parallel market continued to quote the dollar at a premium.
At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira opened the week at a weighted rate of ₦1,331.3292 per dollar on Monday, September 28, before strengthening gradually through the week.
The currency closed September 30 at ₦1,329.50 per dollar, compared with ₦1,331 on September 29, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The September 30 session also recorded a weighted average rate of ₦1,329.16, with the naira trading between ₦1,328 and ₦1,331.75.
The movement came alongside a sharp increase in interbank foreign exchange activity. Interbank turnover jumped 123% to $179.58 million on September 30 from $80.58 million the previous trading day, while the number of deals increased to 126 from 94.
The market had started the week on a softer note. On September 28, the naira closed at ₦1,331.50 per dollar, after trading between ₦1,330 and ₦1,332. Nairametrics, citing CBN data, reported that the weighted average rate stood at ₦1,331.3292.
By Friday, October 2, market reports put the official NFEM rate around ₦1,328.17, close to the CBN reference rate of ₦1,329.16, indicating that the currency remained broadly stable around the ₦1,329 level.
However, the stability in the official market has not eliminated the difference with the parallel market.
On October 2, parallel-market quotations reported by Vanguard put the dollar at about ₦1,375 to buy and ₦1,390 to sell. This left a gap of roughly ₦61 per dollar between the official reference rate and the parallel-market selling rate.
The spread was narrower at some points during the week. On September 28, for instance, AbokiFX data cited by Nigerian Tribune put the parallel-market buying and selling rates at ₦1,375 and ₦1,382 respectively, against an official rate of ₦1,331.3292.
The relative stability of the official market has coincided with an improvement in Nigeria’s external reserve position. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said in September that reserves had crossed $55 billion, their highest level in more than 18 years. The CBN also cut its Monetary Policy Rate by 350 basis points from 26.5% to 23% at its September meeting.
For now, the currency market is therefore showing two related but different trends: the official rate has remained within a tight band around ₦1,329 to the dollar, while cash-market demand continues to keep the parallel rate significantly higher.
