The naira recorded a sharp appreciation against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Thursday, strengthening by N33 on a day-to-day basis.
A Bureau De Change operator, Abubakar Hassan, disclosed tto Nigerian Newssphere on Friday that the local currency firmed to N1,317 per dollar, up from N1,350 traded the previous day at the black market.
According to him, the naira’s rebound marks its strongest performance at the parallel market in several months.
“The naira strengthened to its highest level at the black market in months. This is largely due to low demand pressure and recent interventions by the Central Bank,” Hassan explained.
In contrast, the currency weakened at the official foreign exchange window. Data showed that the naira depreciated by N3.23 on Thursday to close at N1,341.35 per dollar, compared to N1,338.12 recorded on Wednesday, extending its losses for the second consecutive day.
The mixed performance across the foreign exchange markets comes as Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $48.50 billion as of February 17, 2026, according to figures from the apex bank.
The latest movements follow Wednesday’s trading session, which ended with divergent trends at both the official and parallel markets.
