Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members are confident that the naira’s recent stability will continue.
In their July 2025 meeting, they attributed this positive trend to a significant drop in speculative trading, alongside effective foreign exchange management reforms.
The naira has been performing well. In the week leading up to the meeting, it strengthened against the US dollar by 0.98% in the official market, closing at N1,501.50 per dollar.
The parallel market also saw a gain of 0.33%, settling at N1,535.00 per dollar. This strong performance has narrowed the gap between the official and parallel market rates.
MPC members, including Bala Moh’d Bello, highlighted that the stability reflects a combination of tighter liquidity conditions, growing investor confidence, and enhanced transparency in the FX market. This sentiment was echoed by others like Aloysius Uche Ordu, who noted that increased foreign exchange liquidity from remittances and foreign investments has significantly boosted Nigeria’s external reserves.
These reserves reached $40.11 billion by July 18, 2025—a substantial increase from $39.01 billion in mid-May. This level of reserves is enough to cover about 9.5 months of imports, providing a strong buffer against external shocks.
Mustapha Akinkunmi, another MPC member, pointed out the naira’s resilience despite global uncertainties. He noted that exchange rate volatility has dropped sharply, with standard deviation falling from N203 per dollar in 2024 to just N5.34 in the first half of 2025.
Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso confirmed that ongoing reforms are promoting price discovery and improving market liquidity, which in turn is sustaining market stability. While capital inflows are rebounding, he cautioned that clear policy direction is still needed to maintain investor confidence.
