The naira started Monday’s trading session relatively stable in the official foreign exchange market, with the currency quoted at about N1,331.20 to the US dollar, while the parallel-market rate stood at approximately N1,395/$.
The latest confirmed Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) fixing, based on Friday’s data, showed the naira strengthening marginally from N1,331.28/$ recorded previously.
A live USD/NGN benchmark was also around N1,330.65/$ in early trading, pointing to limited volatility in the official-market spot rate.
At the parallel-market level, the dollar’s quotation of N1,395 translated into an FX premium of about N63.80/$ over the latest NFEM rate.
The premium reflects the pricing difference between the formal market and the parallel segment, where rates can respond more quickly to changes in dollar demand and available liquidity.
The relatively narrow movement in the NFEM rate suggests that official-market pricing has remained broadly stable in recent sessions.
However, actual transaction rates can differ across banks, Bureau de Change operators, locations and transaction sizes.
Nigeria’s external reserve position has also strengthened.
Central Bank of Nigeria data cited by BusinessDay showed that reserves stood at $54.61 billion as of September 14, representing an 18-year high and a 30.52 per cent year-on-year increase from the corresponding period in 2025.
The higher reserve position provides an important indicator of the country’s external liquidity and capacity to support foreign-exchange market operations, although reserve levels do not directly determine retail or parallel-market exchange rates.
As of September 21, 2026, the key USD/NGN reference points were approximately N1,331.20/$ on the NFEM, N1,330.65/$ on the live benchmark and N1,395/$ in the parallel market.
