Naira Falls on Squeezed FX Liquidity at NFEM Window
The naira fell against the US dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) window for the third consecutive trading session amid growing FX payments from eligible market participants.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) daily FX publication, the spot rate at the official window depreciated to N1375.6219 per dollar on Tuesday from N1373.1670 at the beginning of the week.
The local currency hovered between an intraday low of N1372.7500 per dollar and N1377.9900, reflecting an intense FX liquidity squeeze in the market.
In the parallel market, the naira appreciated to N1,390, reversing the previous two trends across Bureau de Change (BDCs) operators licensed for information segment FX trades.
As a result, the spread between the two markets further narrowed to NGN14.38/USD from NGN21.84/USD previously.
Latest data from the CBN revealed that Nigeria’s external reserves increased further to USD48.45 billion, up from USD48.36 billion as of 11h May 2026. The foreign reserves rebound amidst uncertainties in the global commodity market.
As one of the top oil-producing African nations, Nigeria is expected to be a net beneficiary of the Middle East conflict as crude oil prices remain above the 2026 budget estimate.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revealed that in April 2026, Nigeria met 99.2% of its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production quota of 1.5mb/d.
This was revealed in the X handle of the commission, which stressed that the output rose to 1.48b/d of crude oil and 174,873b/d of condensate. According to NUPRC, total crude oil and condensate production was 1.66 million barrels per day (mb/d).
Nigeria’s production increased in April to 1,488,540 barrels of crude oil and 174,873 barrels of condensate, totalling 1,663,413 barrels per day. This implies that Nigeria met 99.2% of its 1.5mbpd OPEC quota of crude oil.”
The report revealed that the figure also represents a 7.58% increase compared to March. NUPRC said the peak production in April was 1.85 mbpd, while the lowest was 1.46 mbpd. Nigerian Exchange Surges N1.36trn as ‘FOMO’ Boosts Rally
