Naira Strengthens Against Major Currencies Amid Rising External Reserves
The Nigerian Naira has shown signs of improvement against major currencies in various segments of the foreign exchange market, including the official and black markets. In the black market window, the naira gained N5 against the US dollar to sell for N1,375/$1 compared to Monday's value of N1,380/$1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the naira also appreciated by N3 to trade at N1,343/$1 versus Monday's rate of N1,346/$1. Similarly, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the local currency gained N3.51 or 0.26% against the US dollar to trade at N1,329.43/$1 compared to the preceding session's value of N1,332.94/$1.
The strengthening of the naira comes as Nigeria's external reserves have crossed the $53 billion mark for the first time in over 17 years, reaching a high of $53.11 billion as of August 24. Analysts note that higher foreign reserves provide stronger external liquidity and improve confidence in Nigeria's ability to meet its foreign exchange obligations.