The Nigerian Naira closed the first full trading week of 2026 with a gain against the U.S. dollar in the official market, strengthening by N7.7 over the period. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows the currency closed at N1,423.17 per dollar on Friday, January 9, representing a 0.54% appreciation from its opening rate of N1,430.85 on January 2.
The performance follows a week of mixed trading with daily fluctuations, before settling at the week’s strongest closing rate. However, a significant gap persists with the parallel market, where the naira traded weaker at approximately N1,490 per dollar, marking a depreciation of about N10 over the same period.
The modest appreciation in the official window coincides with a slight uptick in Nigeria’s external reserves. According to the CBN, reserves rose by $0.07 billion to $45.64 billion as of January 7, providing a marginal boost to the currency’s backing.
In its recently released 2026 economic outlook, the Central Bank underscored its commitment to maintaining current policy direction. The bank emphasized “the need to sustain orthodox monetary policy and implementation of the reforms in the FX market to ensure monetary, price, and exchange rate stability.”
Market analysts view the week’s official appreciation as an early sign of relative stability, though the divergence with the parallel market continues to reflect underlying demand pressures and liquidity constraints outside the formal window. Observers will monitor whether the CBN’s stated policy continuity can further narrow the spread between the two rates in the coming weeks.
