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The naira has maintained a narrow trading range around N1,329/$ for four consecutive trading sessions, marking the first such stretch of relative stability since July 2025.
The naira closed at N1,329.50/$ on September 15, compared with N1,329 on September 14, N1,328.50 on September 11 and N1,328 on September 10.
This is according to data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) website.
This represents a movement of just N1.50/$ across the four-session period, with the currency remaining within a relatively tight range despite fluctuations in intraday trading.
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What the data is saying
The CBN data shows that the naira opened the four-session period at a closing rate of N1,328/$ on September 10 and strengthened slightly to N1,328.50/$ on September 11.
- It then weakened to N1,329/$ on September 14 before closing at N1,329.50/$ on September 15.
- Despite the marginal movement in the closing rate, trading remained active on the first three sessions. Turnover stood at N1.45 billion on September 10, N458.99 million on September 11 and N423.95 million on September 14.
- On September 15, however, NFEM interbank turnover stood at $262.12 million. This suggests that the latest closing rate was established against a different trading volume profile from the preceding sessions.
- The September 15 intraday range was also relatively narrow, with the naira trading between N1,326.50/$ and N1,333/$.
The last time the naira recorded four consecutive sessions with the same general closing range was July 17–22, 2025, when it closed at N1,536/$, N1,535/$, N1,535/$ and N1,536/$ respectively.
More insights
The recent exchange-rate stability comes as Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.39% in August 2026 from 15.43% in July, extending the disinflation trend for a third consecutive month.
- The average inflation rate for the 12 months to August stood at 16.30%, significantly below the 28.32% recorded a year earlier.
- Urban inflation moderated to 15.88% year-on-year, while its monthly rate fell sharply to 0.28% from 1.90% in July. The 12-month average for urban inflation was 16.28%, compared with 29.73% in August 2025.
- Rural inflation, however, remained a source of short-term pressure, rising to 1.79% month-on-month from 0.78% in July, although its year-on-year rate stood at 14.23%.
- Food inflation also moderated, falling to 19.57% year-on-year in August from 25.30% a year earlier.
The naira’s narrow movement has occurred against a backdrop of renewed strength in the US dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September 16 policy decision.
The dollar was trading near multi-week highs against several major currencies, supported by rising US Treasury yields and expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike. Reuters reported that markets had priced in a high probability of a 25-basis-point increase ahead of the decision.
The dollar’s strength has been particularly visible against the yen and New Zealand dollar, while the euro and sterling have also remained under pressure.
What you should know
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed above the $54 billion mark, strengthening the country’s external position.
The latest position has now surpassed the CBN’s projected reserve level of approximately $51.04 billion for the whole of 2026.
The latest increase in external reserves comes as the CBN maintains a tight monetary policy stance aimed at moderating inflation and supporting macroeconomic stability.
The Monetary Policy Committee retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5% at its 306th meeting held in Abuja on July 20 and 21, 2026.
