Nigerian Naira Falls Slightly to N1368 on Light FX Liquidity
The Nigerian naira dropped slightly to N1368.2232 per US dollar at the official window during the last trading session on Friday, coincidentally the end of July, 2026.
The local unit traded negatively against the greenback throughout the week, though downside movements were minimal due to the Apex Bank FX boosts at the official window.
The minimal weekly loss of value reflected balanced participation from both buyers and sellers. FX supply remained moderate but proved insufficient to fully meet prevailing demand, resulting in a slight weakening of the naira across benchmark rates.
Hence, the official rate depreciated to close at ₦1,368.2232 per US dollar from N1366.7278 on Thursday, according to FX trading data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
FX spot rates hovered between N1360 and N1372 during the trading session, reflecting pressure on US dollar volume availability at the supply side.
Traders reported that interbank FX turnover was relatively stable at $58.990 million, a marginal increase of less than $0.5 million from $58.423 million reported in the previous day.
Rates are expected to remain broadly stable in the next trading session, barring any significant changes in market liquidity or prevailing demand and supply conditions.
In the global market…
The US dollar fell against the G10 currencies in July, except against the Swiss franc. The greenback had been mixed until late in the month when the market took the dollar down after the FOMC failed to convince the market that it was serious about reaching the 2% inflation target, which it has missed for more than five years.
The euro rose by about 0.7% in July, which pared its loss to about 2.1% for the year. The regional economy continues to struggle under three shocks: China’s growing market share, especially in autos; the energy shock emanating from the war in the Middle East; and the ongoing US tariff threats.
The British pound strengthened in July. The rally that began from the year’s low in late June ($1.3140) continued through mid-July when sterling reached a two-month high, near $1.3560.
Sterling stalled amid a broader US dollar recovery and fell back to $1.3300, meeting a technical retracement target. However, it recovered and reached almost $1.3500 at the end of the month.
