The Nigerian naira maintained relative strength against the United States dollar on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, following recent gains in the official foreign exchange market and stability in the parallel market.
At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, NFEM, the naira closed at approximately ₦1,350 per dollar on Monday, August 17, improving from ₦1,358.25/$ recorded on Friday, August 14.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, showed that the latest movement represented a gain of ₦8.25, or about 0.6 per cent, bringing the naira to its strongest closing level since April 22, 2026.
Early trading on Tuesday put the dollar at around ₦1,352.22, suggesting that the naira remained close to the ₦1,350/$ mark.
In the parallel market, the dollar was reportedly trading at about ₦1,407 for buying and ₦1,420 for selling. At that rate, purchasing $1,000 would cost roughly ₦1.42 million, while selling the same amount could yield about ₦1.407 million.
The parallel-market selling price of ₦1,420 is approximately ₦70 higher than the official NFEM rate of ₦1,350, representing a gap of about 5.2 per cent.
Recent gains by the naira in the official market have been attributed to improved foreign exchange liquidity and stronger dollar supply.
Market watchers are expected to monitor factors including dollar demand from importers and businesses, crude oil earnings, foreign investment inflows, diaspora remittances and CBN policies as they assess the currency’s outlook.
However, parallel-market rates may differ depending on location, transaction volume and individual dealers, while the official NFEM rate reflects the volume-weighted average of transactions conducted in Nigeria’s formal foreign exchange market.
Exchange rates can change throughout the day as market conditions shift.
