The naira closed the week on a stronger footing, appreciating to N1,579 per dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Friday, May 23, 2025, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This marks an improvement from Thursday’s rate of N1,586/$1, which was the naira’s only dip during the week. The local currency had shown a consistent upward trend earlier, trading at N1,597/$1 on Monday, N1,588.5/$1 on Tuesday, and N1,583/$1 on Wednesday.
Compared to its closing rate of N1,599.01/$1 on Friday, May 16, the naira appreciated on a week-on-week basis. On Friday, it traded within a range of N1,585/$1 (high) and N1,575.13/$1 (low), with an average of N1,581.59/$1, based on CBN figures.
The naira showed mixed performance against other major currencies.
British Pound: Closed at N2,136.75/£1 on Friday, down from N2,127.96/£1 on Thursday, and slightly weaker than N2,126.23/£1 on Wednesday.
Euro: Gained ground, closing at N1,791.95/€1, up from N1,795.07/€1 a day earlier.
In the parallel market, the naira held steady at N1,620/$1 on both Thursday and Friday. This followed an appreciation from N1,625/$1 on Wednesday and N1,627/$1 on Monday.
The pound exchanged at N2,150/£1 on Friday, stronger than midweek but slightly weaker than Thursday’s rate. The euro, however, weakened to N1,835/€1 on Thursday, down from N1,820/€1 earlier in the week.
Investor sentiment appears to be improving, with key business leaders praising recent reforms. Femi Otedola, Chairman of First Holdco Plc, commended President Tinubu and CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso for bold monetary policies.
“I commend the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, for his courageous and pragmatic policy reforms. His actions are restoring credibility to the financial system,” Otedola said at the company’s AGM.
Tony Elumelu, UBA Chairman and member of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, made similar remarks at the Qatar Economic Forum:
“The naira is becoming quite stable… Fixing currency volatility is critical for economic development across Africa.”
The naira’s current stability is credited to various CBN interventions, including:
Clearing dollar backlogs
Introducing high-yield fixed-income instruments
Improving forex liquidity
Despite these measures, the CBN maintained the benchmark interest rate at 27.5%, marking its second consecutive hold in 2025.
