Market News
Naira starts September strong at N1,526 per dollar -PUNCH
The naira strengthened by 0.36 per cent or (N5.48) on Monday to N1,526.09 per dollar from N1,531.57 per dollar at the previous trading session, indicating a strong start to the new week and month.
This is the strongest rate that the naira has traded in about six weeks on the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria website.
The naira performed better at the parallel market as Cardinal Stone Research revealed that it gained 1.22 per cent to settle at 1,527.33/$, thus eliminating any need for speculative activities.
The strengthening of the naira aligned with the projections of experts for the week. The analysts at Cowry Assets Management in their weekly report estimate that the naira would trade largely stable at the official window, supported by Central Bank of Nigeria interventions and modest FX inflows, “though rising demand and a stronger U.S. dollar could limit further gains.”
The experts at AIICO Capital maintained that the naira is likely to maintain its current trading range in the new week, 1,525–1538/$ band.
This aligned with the projection of PwC in its Economic Outlook, “The naira is expected to remain broadly stable through 2025, underpinned by ongoing CBN reforms and improved portfolio inflows.”
As of Friday, the naira strengthened to 1,531.57/$, indicating a 0.23 per cent appreciation from the previous week, when it traded at 1,531.57/$.
On a month-on-month basis, the naira appreciated 0.13 per cent from 1,533.55/$ at the end of July. This performance showed that it moved back from the negative territory that it ended July in. The naira closed out July 2025 at 1,533.55/$ at the official market, which is about 0.25 per cent weaker than the 1,529.71/$ that it had closed in June.
Also in August, the external reserves hit $41.00bn and have consistently risen since then to close at $41.27bn as of Friday.
Experts have asserted that the strengthening of the naira was on the back of improved market liquidity and sustained dollar inflows.
Meanwhile, the dollar hit a five-week low on Monday as investors looked ahead to a raft of U.S. labour market data this week that could affect expectations for the Federal Reserve’s monetary easing path, reports Reuters.
Analysts in the report asserted that the US economy was no longer outperforming as it did for much of the past decade, justifying a weaker dollar, and further signs of a softening labour market are expected to bolster that narrative.
