The Naira strengthened against the US Dollar on Monday, closing at a two-year high of N1,347.78/$1 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), appreciating by N7.64 or 0.56 per cent from the previous session’s N1,355.42/$1.
The local currency also recorded gains against other major currencies in the official market. It appreciated by N5.41 against the Pound Sterling to trade at N1,839.18/£1, compared with N1,844.59/£1 recorded last Friday. Against the Euro, the Naira gained N9.78 to close at N1,598.06/€1 from the prior rate of N1,607.93/€1.
However, performance was mixed across segments. At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira weakened marginally by N2 to exchange at N1,367/$1, compared with N1,365/$1 in the previous session. In the parallel market, the rate remained unchanged at N1,420/$1.
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Market analysts attributed the currency’s strengthening to improved foreign exchange liquidity following elevated demand pressures last week. The full participation of licensed Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in the official segment helped absorb backlogged demand, while additional inflows from exporters, non-bank corporates, and other market participants eased pressure on the exchange rate.
Nigeria’s external reserves also provided support, rising by $135.76 million day-on-day to reach $47.81 billion, according to the latest data.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics reported a slight moderation in inflation, with the headline rate easing to 15.10 per cent in January from 15.15 per cent in December 2025. The figure represents a 0.05 percentage-point decline month-on-month and a significant drop from 27.61 per cent recorded in January 2025. The trend has strengthened expectations of a potential interest rate cut when the Monetary Policy Committee meets next week.
In the cryptocurrency market, most tracked assets traded higher amid cautious investor sentiment linked to expectations of monetary easing in the United States. Softer-than-expected US inflation data reinforced projections of possible rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later in the year.
Cardano rose by 2.8 per cent to $0.2861, Litecoin gained 2.2 per cent to $55.09, Solana advanced 1.9 per cent to $86.42, Binance Coin climbed 1.8 per cent to $623.25, Ripple increased 1.5 per cent to $1.47, while Ethereum added 0.9 per cent to $1,977.54.
Conversely, Dogecoin declined by 1.9 per cent to $0.0999, while Bitcoin slipped marginally by 0.2 per cent to $68,300.03. Stablecoins US Dollar Tether and US Dollar Coin closed flat at $1.00 each.
