The British pound remained relatively stable against the Nigerian naira at about N1,837 to £1 as the local currency continues to maintain its recent stability in the foreign exchange market.
Latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the pound-to-naira exchange rate has recorded only modest movements, with the currency trading within a range of approximately N1,805 to N1,875 per pound over the past 30 days.
The naira has also remained firm against the US dollar, with the dollar trading around N1,360 in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
The relative stability comes amid efforts by the CBN to improve liquidity and transparency in the foreign exchange market through a series of reforms.
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to nearly $53 billion, providing additional support for the naira, while average daily FX market turnover has increased significantly from levels below $100 million to more than $400 million regularly, with some trading sessions recording turnover of about $1 billion.
The CBN has also maintained a tight monetary policy stance, leaving the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.5 percent as part of measures aimed at containing liquidity and supporting price and exchange-rate stability.
Headline inflation has meanwhile remained around the mid-teens, at about 15.9 percent, while improved food production and stronger oil output have helped ease some of the pressures on the economy.
The naira’s improved performance also comes against the backdrop of stronger fiscal conditions, including increased oil production and trade surpluses, which have helped reduce some of the pressure that previously weighed on the currency.
Pound gains against dollar
On international markets, sterling strengthened against the US dollar, trading near $1.3495 in early European trading on Friday.
The pound’s gains followed weaker-than-expected US inflation data, which reduced expectations of further interest-rate tightening by the US Federal Reserve.
US producer prices remained flat in July, against market expectations of a 0.2 percent increase. Core producer prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2 percent month-on-month, slower than the 0.4 percent increase recorded in June.
The softer inflation figures prompted traders to scale back expectations of a US rate hike in September. Market pricing put the probability of such a move at 34.8 percent, down from 40 percent following the release of the producer-price data.
However, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could still provide support for the dollar as a safe-haven asset, potentially limiting further gains by sterling.
Meanwhile, the UK economy expanded by 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 2026, slower than the 0.6 percent growth recorded in the previous quarter. The result was broadly in line with analysts’ expectations.
