The naira began the new trading week on a positive note at the official foreign exchange market, appreciating against the United States dollar on Monday.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency strengthened to ₦1,429.31 per dollar on Monday, improving from ₦1,430.85 recorded at the close of trading on Friday, 2 January 2026.
This represents a ₦1.56 gain for the naira at the official window compared to its previous closing rate.
However, the currency moved in the opposite direction at the parallel (black) market, where it depreciated by ₦5 to trade at ₦1,480 per dollar on Monday, down from ₦1,475 exchanged on Friday.
The mixed performance comes amid a rise in Nigeria’s external reserves, which climbed to $45.57 billion as of last Friday, according to the latest figures. The increase in reserves is widely seen as a positive signal for foreign exchange liquidity and the CBN’s capacity to support the naira in the official market.
Market watchers continue to monitor developments across both FX segments, as divergence between official and parallel rates remains a key concern for currency stability.
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