February 20, (THEWILL) – The naira, on Thursday afternoon, at the foreign exchange markets traded at the same range against the United States dollar at the NAFEM and the parallel market segments, marking a significant win for the Yemi Cardoso-led Central Bank and the Bola Tinubu administration. The naira traded at N1,497/$1 (buy) and N1510/$1 (sell) at the BDC at 4pm. At the NAFEM, which is also known as the official market, it traded at N1,497/$1, while quotes for offshore transfer stood at N1505/$1.

The naira, which traded at around N1,730-$1 in December 2024, at the BDC segment, has been bullish in the markets since the Christmas season on the back of several reforms, including the Bloomberg BMatch electronic foreign exchange system and FX code for banks introduced by the CBN to promote transparency in the market.

Nigeria’s foreign reserve is around USD$40 billion.

Traders expect the naira to sustain the current trend in the short and midterm as the country ramps up crude oil production, its major FX earner, which is currently above the 1.5mbpd approved for the country by OPEC. Nigeria has also increased production of refined petroleum products with the Dangote Refinery and the NNPC refineries contributing significantly to local consumption and export.