Naira Slips 0.7% Despite 249% Weekly FX Turnover Increase

The naira ended the week weaker in Nigeria’s official foreign exchange market despite a significant rise in market liquidity and continued growth in the country’s external reserves.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data show the naira depreciated by N9.65 week‑on‑week, with the dollar quoted at N1,371.04 on Friday versus N1,361.39 the previous Friday, a weekly loss of about 0.70 percent.

Turnover at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) rose sharply week‑on‑week, increasing to $509.22 million as of Thursday — up 249.16 percent from $145.84 million the prior week. However, daily activity eased: turnover fell 36.6 percent day‑on‑day from $802.79 million on Wednesday to the lower figure recorded on Thursday.

The number of transactions also declined. NFEM deals dropped to 289 on Thursday, an 11.6 percent fall from 327 recorded on the same weekday the previous week, and down 16.7 percent from 347 deals on Wednesday. Activity in the interbank segment weakened further: interbank deals fell to 58 on Friday, down 36.3 percent week‑on‑week from 91 and down 43.7 percent from 103 on Thursday.

Taken together, the data point to higher overall FX turnover over the week but softer transaction frequency and daily turnover, coinciding with a modest weekly weakening of the naira.