The naira recorded its steepest single-day depreciation against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Friday, closing the week on a negative trajectory.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the local currency weakened to N1,346.32 per dollar on Friday, compared to N1,341.35 traded the previous day. This represents a day-on-day decline of N4.97—the sharpest drop since the naira resumed its downward trend on Wednesday.
Since midweek, the currency has depreciated by N10.36 at the official market.
On a week-on-week basis, the naira also posted losses, weakening by 9.0 when compared to the N1,355.42 exchange rate recorded last Friday.
In contrast, the parallel market saw a strong performance during the week. The naira appreciated significantly to close at N1,317 per dollar, improving from N1,440 traded the previous week—a substantial gain of N123 on a week-on-week basis.
Meanwhile, figures from the apex bank indicated that Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $48.50 billion as of February 17, 2026.
