The Naira experienced its most stable trading period in months during September 2025, consistently staying below the N1,500 per dollar threshold for over two weeks.
According to latest figures published on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website, the currency closed at N1,478/$1 on September 30, marking a significant rally from its opening rate of N1,527.9/$1 on September 1.
A breakdown of the month’s performance shows a steady trend of appreciation in the latter half of September.
On September 15, the Naira traded at N1,495/$1, falling below the N1,500/$1 barrier for the first time in the month.
From that point onward, the data shows, the currency sustained momentum, closing at N1,486.8/$1 on September 24, N1,485/$1 on September 25, N1,480/$1 on September 26, and N1,480.15/$1 on September 29, before finally strengthening further to N1,478/$1 on September 30.
Month-on-month performances
The currency’s trajectory in September stands out when compared with previous months.
Data from the CBN show that the Naira closed December 2024 at N1,535/$1, before appreciating slightly in January 2025 to N1,475/$1 — its strongest monthly closing so far this year.
However, February saw a mild reversal to N1,500/$1, followed by a depreciation to N1,537/$1 in March, and further weakening to N1,602/$1 in April. May 2025 turned out to be the Naira’s worst-performing month, closing at N1,585.5/$1.
The trend shifted in June when the Naira strengthened slightly to N1,532/$1, followed by N1,534/$1 in July, and N1,531/$1 in August.
The September closing rate of N1,478/$1 therefore marked the strongest performance since January and signaled a renewed sense of stability in the foreign exchange market.
Despite January holding the record for the best monthly close this year, it is worth noting that most trading days that month still hovered above N1,500/$1. Only on January 30 and 31 did the Naira record N1,475/$1 and N1,493/$1 respectively.
In contrast, September offered a more sustained stretch of sub-N1,500/$1 trading, demonstrating its stability and resilience in the second half of the month.
Foreign reserves performance
During the month under review, the external reserves surpassed the $42 billion mark, rising to $42.3 billion as of September 29, 2025, the highest in over six years.
According to the CBN data, the country’s external reserve has increased by over $692 million in 18 days. It also shows that the reserve has been on an upward swing since the 14th of July 2025.
The closest the external reserve has gotten to the present figure was on September 27, 2019, when it hit $41.992 billion.
The CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, speaking after the MPC meeting on September 22, attributed this to growing confidence driven by reforms, increased transparency, and the adoption of a more market-oriented exchange rate regime.
He highlighted the CBN’s overarching monetary policy objective of taming inflation and driving it down to single digits a goal that remains non-negotiable despite mounting political pressures as the country approaches the 2026 pre-election period.
“Exchange rate stability is key. If we are going to continue to moderate inflation the way we have, exchange rate stability is key. Fiscal discipline is key,” Cardoso said.
The governor reassured investors and the public that the CBN remains focused on preserving the hard-won macroeconomic stability achieved in recent months and signaled a continuation of vigilant, data-driven policy enforcement.
What you should know
In September, CBN reduced the MPR by 50 basis points, lowering it from 27.5 percent to 27 percent.
Alongside the MPR cut, the MPC narrowed the asymmetric corridor around the benchmark rate to +250 and -250 basis points, from the previous +500/-100 basis points.
The Committee retained CRR for commercial banks at 45 percent, while that of merchant banks was set at 16 percent.
