The naira on Thursday posted its first depreciation against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market this week.
Figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the local currency weakened to N1,353.66 per dollar on Thursday, from N1,348.95 recorded the previous day.
This represents a day-on-day loss of N4.71 against the dollar, almost erasing the N5.51 gain the naira had accumulated over the last three trading sessions at the official window.
In contrast, the naira strengthened further at the parallel market, appreciating by N5 to trade at N1,440 per dollar on Thursday, compared with N1,445 on Wednesday. The improvement was linked to the apex bank’s recent intervention in the Bureau De Change segment.
The development comes amid growing external obligations, as Nigeria’s foreign debt rose to $47.53 billion as of February 10, 2026, according to central bank data.
