The Nigerian naira traded largely stable against the United States dollar on Wednesday across both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
Data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market showed the local currency exchanging at N1,372.84/$ at the official window, compared to N1,372.64/$ recorded in the previous trading session. The marginal movement reflects the continued stability of the naira in the official market, which has maintained a relatively narrow trading range in recent weeks.
Market data also indicated sustained liquidity inflows, supported by ongoing interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria aimed at easing volatility and strengthening confidence in the foreign exchange market.
In the parallel market, commonly known as the black market, the naira also held firm. Bureau de change operators in key commercial centres such as Lagos and Abuja quoted the dollar at an average buying rate of N1,410/$ and a selling rate ranging between N1,420/$ and N1,425/$.
The gap between the official and parallel market rates remained below four per cent, suggesting reduced arbitrage opportunities and improving alignment between both segments of the forex market.
Analysts attributed the relative stability of the naira to steady foreign exchange supply and tighter monetary measures introduced by the central bank.
They also projected that the local currency could sustain its current range in the near term as month-end corporate demand for foreign exchange gradually eases.
