Naira Holds Firm Against Dollar

(Dollar to Naira. Photo by Nairacompare)

The naira maintained relatively steady performance against the dollar on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, buoyed by recent gains at the official exchange market and equilibrium in informal currency channels.

Official records indicated the naira closed at approximately ₦1,350 per dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market on Monday, August 17, marking an advance from the ₦1,358.25 rate seen on Friday, August 14.

This movement represented a 0.6 per cent strengthening and constituted the naira's best closing position since 22 April 2026.

Early trading on Tuesday showed the dollar at roughly ₦1,352.22, maintaining the currency around the ₦1,350 threshold.

In the informal market, dealers quoted the dollar at approximately ₦1,407 for purchases and ₦1,420 for sales, meaning buyers acquiring $1,000 would expend about ₦1.42 million, while sellers could realise around ₦1.407 million.

The gap between the parallel-market selling rate and the official closing stood at roughly ₦70, or approximately 5.2 per cent.

Analysts attributed the naira's strengthening to expanded dollar availability and improved foreign exchange supply conditions.

Prior data documented the currency's progression from ₦1,365.69 in the preceding week to ₦1,357.61 on August 17 before the subsequent appreciation.

Market observers noted that currency direction will depend on several variables, including dollar flows from commerce and investment, crude oil revenue, remittances from abroad, and policy decisions by the central bank.

Parallel rates fluctuate by location, transaction size and operator, whereas the official NFEM rate reflects volume-weighted averages derived from the formal exchange system.

Exchange rates shift throughout trading sessions as conditions shift.