The naira started Monday’s trading session relatively stable in the official foreign exchange market, with the currency quoted at about ₦1,331.20 to the US dollar, while parallel-market pricing moved to approximately ₦1,395/$.
The latest confirmed Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) fixing, based on Friday’s data, showed the naira strengthening marginally from ₦1,331.28/$ recorded previously.
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A live USD/NGN benchmark was also around ₦1,330.65/$ in early trading, pointing to limited volatility in the official-market spot rate.
At the parallel-market level, the dollar’s quotation of ₦1,395 translated into an FX premium of about ₦63.80/$ over the latest NFEM rate.
The premium reflects the pricing differential 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 reserves at $54.61 billion as of September 14, representing an 18-year high and a 30.52 per cent year-on-year increase from the corresponding period in 2025.
The higher reserve position provides an important indicator of the country’s external liquidity and capacity to support foreign-exchange market operations, although reserve levels do not directly determine the retail or parallel-market exchange rate.
As of September 21, 2026, the key USD/NGN reference points were approximately ₦1,331.20/$ on the NFEM, ₦1,330.65/$ on the live benc