Naira Climbs to N1441/$, Nigeria Sees Declining Blocked Fund
The naira strengthened against the US dollar to $1441 on Thursday across both the official and unofficial currency markets as FX pressures eased.
The successive accretion into the nation’s external reserves continues to boost investors’ sentiment and reduce speculative trades sharply. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to play hard with FX injection, though the tempo has slowed down as the naira continues to find fair value.
The Nigerian foreign reserves data revealed that blocked funds—the country’s portion of reserves that are not immediately available for use is on decline reflecting zero capital control policy.
The local currency appreciated 0.11% to ₦1,441.44/$ in the official FX market on Thursday, while the parallel market gained 0.34% to ₦1,455/$, reflecting improved demand for the local currency.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that the naira touched an intraday high of N1439.35 per dollar versus N1444.85/$ in the previous day, reflecting reduced demand for US dollars for international transactions.
Updated FX data from the CBN showed that some FX transactions were closed at an intraday low of N1437 per dollar, reflecting improved FX inflows in the official market.
External reserves climbed to $43.427 billion as additional inflows flooded the Nigerian Exchange, boosting net FX positions following the country’s successful Eurobond raise. As the country’s foreign reserves increase, blocked funds continue to decline, while US dollar liquidity expands.
Since the accretion to external reserves commenced, blocked fund has fallen from $615.478 billion at the beginning of the month to $587.209 million
Blocked historically included funds from foreign airlines and other businesses that could not repatriate their profits in dollars due to a shortage of foreign exchange in the local market.
In 2025, the blocked fund has reduced from $774.65 million to the current level. Foreign reserves data showed that as the gross amount increased, blocked funds declined. It was above $1 billion for most part of 2023.
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