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The naira weakened by N11.10 against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Wednesday, September 9, closing at N1,334/$, compared with N1,322.90/$ recorded on Tuesday.
This is according to data analysed by Nairametrics on Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) website on Wednesday.
The decline represents a 0.84% depreciation in the exchange rate, marking a reversal from the naira’s recent gains in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
The latest data showed that interbank foreign exchange turnover rose sharply to $94.43 million, up from $55.60 million recorded the previous day.
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The increase represents a 69.82% rise, or an additional $38.82 million, in interbank FX transactions.
What the data is saying
Data from the foreign exchange market showed that the naira traded between a high of N1,334/$ and a low of N1,321.50/$ during Wednesday’s session.
The weighted average exchange rate stood at N1,329.21/$, while the simple average was N1,329.44/$.
Unlike the previous trading session, CBN is yet to publish Wednesday’s NFEM deals and total turnover as of the time of filing this report, while interbank transactions accounted for the reported $94.43 million turnover.
- On Tuesday, the naira closed at N1,322.90/$ after trading within a range of N1,318/$ to N1,323/$. The session recorded 248 deals, including 58 interbank deals, with total NFEM turnover of $933.78 million and interbank turnover of $55.60 million.
- The sharp difference in reported total NFEM and interbank turnover between the two sessions indicates a significantly different transaction mix in Wednesday’s market.
- Wednesday’s depreciation came after the naira had strengthened to N1,322.50/$ on September 4 and N1,320/$ on September 7 before slipping to N1,322.90/$ on September 8.
The currency had been on a broad appreciation trend since late August, moving from N1,349.99/$ on August 24 to N1,320/$ on September 7.
At N1,334/$, the naira is now N14 weaker than the September 7 closing rate, representing a depreciation of about 1.06% over the two trading sessions.
Despite Wednesday’s decline, the currency remains stronger than its August 24 level by about N15.99/$, or roughly 1.18%.
The increase in interbank turnover was one of the major features of Wednesday’s session.
Interbank FX turnover rose from $55.60 million on September 8 to $94.43 million, representing a 69.82% increase.
However, the higher interbank turnover coincided with a weaker closing exchange rate, suggesting that increased transaction activity did not translate into an appreciation of the naira during the session.
The market recorded 86 interbank deals on Wednesday, compared with 58 the previous day.
This means the number of interbank transactions increased by 28 deals, or about 48.28%, alongside the rise in turnover.
More insights
Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s external reserves have crossed the $54 billion mark for the first time since December 2008, reaching $54.08 billion as of September 3, 2026.
The improvement in reserves comes as Nigeria’s external position continues to benefit from higher oil earnings and other foreign exchange inflows.
NNPC’s operational data showed stronger production during the second quarter, with crude oil and condensate output averaging 1.68 million barrels per day in April, 1.73 million barrels per day in May and 1.72 million barrels per day in June. Production stood at 1.68 million barrels per day in July.
The dollar has also shown signs of recovering from its recent weakness.
The dollar index was around 98.81, moving away from a three-week low, while the euro and pound traded slightly weaker at around $1.1633 and $1.3547 respectively.
The yen’s recent rally also paused as markets looked ahead to the Bank of Japan’s expected rate decision.
For Nigeria, this means domestic FX conditions cannot be viewed entirely in isolation from developments in global financial markets.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s foreign exchange utilisation rose sharply to $50.93 billion in 2025, the highest annual level since 2019.
Nigeria’s total FX utilisation stood at $12.71 billion in Q1 2025, rose to $13.13 billion in Q2 before it moderated to $12.01 billion in Q3 and recovered to $13.08 billion in Q4.
On Tuesday, Nairametrics reported that the exchange turnover in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) fell sharply on Monday, September 7, dropping to N107.07 million as the naira strengthened to N1,320/$.
