The naira on Friday recorded a marginal depreciation, closing the week at N1,456.72 despite the support of strong external reserves and improved foreign exchange inflows.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the naira weakened by N14.29 or 0.98 percent week-on-week at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) window, compared with the rate of N1,442.43 quoted last Friday. The performance underscored a slight increase in demand for dollars in the foreign exchange market even as external buffers strengthened.
Throughout the five trading days, the local currency maintained a mixed trajectory. From Monday’s opening rate of N1,448.03 at the NFEM, the naira slipped by 0.6 percent to close at N1,456.72 on Friday. On a day-to-day basis, the naira also weakened by 0.3 percent or N4.59 compared with Thursday’s closing rate of N1,452.13. This run of marginal losses highlighted pockets of pressure on FX demand despite improvements in foreign currency availability.