Nigeria’s naira weakened against the dollar on Thursday, with Nairametrics reporting a ₦28 closing loss, its steepest since April 2025, as BusinessDay reported $800 million in central-bank sales.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) put its daily Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) rate at ₦1,344.40 per dollar on Oct. 22, compared with ₦1,334.72 on Oct. 21. The CBN identifies the NFEM figure as the official rate for the day and calculates it by weighting exchange prices by trading volume. The rate’s 0.72% rise indicated a weaker naira on that measure.
The closing quote is a separate measure. Nairametrics reported a dollar rate of ₦1,365 at the close, up from ₦1,337 on Oct. 21. The dollar rate rose by ₦28, meaning the naira lost ₦28 in value at the close. Nairametrics said this was the largest closing decline since April 2025.
BusinessDay reported that the CBN sold $300 million at ₦1,345 per dollar on Thursday, followed by $500 million at ₦1,344. It also reported a $150 million sale on Wednesday. The outlet based its figures on unnamed market information and did not cite on-record CBN confirmation.
Analysts cited by BusinessDay said two days of reported sales were not enough to show whether portfolio flows were reversing. Ayodeji Ebo, CEO of MDU Capital, said dollar demand could reflect one-off transactions or import payments. He also said some portfolio managers might be taking profits after earning interest income and benefiting from naira gains.
At Agusto & Co., Financial Institutions Ratings head Ayokunle Olubunmi said, “We need data over a relatively longer period before making a call.” Olubunmi and Muda Yusuf, CEO at CPPE (Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise), said further trading and portfolio-flow data would help assess whether the moves signaled a sustained change in flows.
